Before Eric
by Loraena
Summary: Godric's story before he became the monster that made Eric. The tragedy that rivals even that of the famous love stories like Tristan and Isolde that made him that monster.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: When the Romans Came**

** 88 BC**

I remember that day well, it is my nightmare that haunts my sleep granting me no escape. I was still but a boy, barely ten years old. I had an older brother before me who – as older brothers do – loved to taunt and have fun at my expense. Yet, I also had three after me to whom I could do the same, so it was not so bad. I also had sister, not even two full years younger than I. The eldest of us was Crixus, named for our grandfather who was a great and wise man of our tribe in Northern Gaul along the sea, and he was about to turn thirteen. Then after me came the twins, Tamsin my sister, and Taranis. Then Brennus who was five, and lastly Coran who was only a year old.

Crixus and I were in the woods. Crixus was hunting for supper and I was gathering firewood. Our father, whose name was Cadman, was with Taranis at the shore teaching him how to fish, and the others were inside with our mother, Elka.

In many places a man was either a leader or a soldier who follows, I was to be the first. Father had always said Crixus would be the warrior of the family like he was, and I would be like our grandfather as I was already "too smart for my own good" like my mother. I was simply my mother's son, as she would say, and I looked like her to prove it. That was why unlike my brother I was marked with the symbol of our faith - the symbol of water tattooed on my arm like my grandfather – who had done the deed himself. Then on the other arm he had asked me to choose which values to be turned into runes, as such I would live by them.

It wasn't long after Crixus caught his stag that we heard the commotion coming from the village. Crixus held me back protectively as we crouched behind some bushes to look out. We knew who they were by their armor, we had heard of them – Romans legionnaires. Father had been warning us that they could come anytime, word had spread all throughout our country that they were coming. We were told to never run off alone, so the younger ones were to always have either Crixus or myself to accompany them if not Father.

Crixus quickly grabbed my hand mumbling, "We have to hurry." I dropped all the wood I had been carrying to run as fast as my feet would carry me. I was not as fast as my brother, but I managed to not get left behind. When we made it home Crixus ordered me to run to the house to alert Mother while he ran for Father. I did as he said and ran inside screaming "Mother!" at the top of my lungs. "Mother! The Roman's are coming! The Roman's are coming!"

I the baby begin to cry as I woke it from slumber with my yelling. Mother quickly grabbed him up from his crib. "Where is Crixus?" She asked quickly with worry.

"With Father." I muttered out of breath.

"Take your brother." She ordered motioning to Brennus. So I took his hand and quickly followed my mother out of the house. "Tamsin, take the baby." She said handing Coran over to my frightened sister. Sensing her fear only frightened poor Coran more and he cried harder. Soon Father came hustling through the door with my brothers behind him.

"Cadman, what do we do?" My mother asked looking to him for guidance.

"You and Tamsin take the baby and run."

"And leave you here?"

"There are horses in the back." He stated telling her what to do. "You have to get to the next village and warn them. Your brother is there, stay with him until I get there."

"Cadman – "

"Do as I say, woman." He rasped between his teeth.

Mother hesitated for a moment out of fear. She didn't want to leave us there, but she had no choice. She finally looked to Tamsin and they ran out the back of the house to the horses.

"Crixus, Godric." He said looking to us. "Get the weapons, make sure we have enough."

"Yes, Father." We said in unison then ran to the other room in the house. We quickly assembled as many weapons as we could – swords, maces, axes, bows and arrows, and spears. Then we came back and laid them all on the table.

"And you boys are going to hide." He told the other two as he started packing a sack with arrows. "You remember how to shoot?"

"Yes, Father." They said.

"Good, you will hide in the brush and shoot them from there where they cannot see you. Then run when you get the chance and wait for us. You remember where?"

"Yes." They said again.

"Good boys." He quickly threw the sacks on them and handed them each a bow and turned him towards the door. "Go!" He said and they ran as fast as they could.

He looked to us again taking as many weapons as he could hold and what we couldn't he left in the bag for him to carry. Then we went outside when he heard their horses approaching. Father stepped outside first to greet them.

"You, Gaul." The Roman said to him, though he must have known we could not understand his words. "Think it best to surrender for you have been conquered, and you shall live, as well as your family. However, if you choose to fight, you may die."

"You are not welcome here." Father said, and the Romans looked to each other in confusion. They probably figured he was insulting them judging by their faces. "I will not go willingly like a coward. I will take as many of you down with me as I can before I let you lay your filthy hands on my family."

"Search the house." The leader ordered and four men came down off their horses. Father waited patiently gripping the hilt of his sword. He let them go past, so we knew he wanted us to dispose of them. Crixus pushed me away from the door telling me to hide. We waited quietly for them to come deep enough into the house that we could strike without the others knowing. Crixus hid in our parent's bedroom, the room next to our own where I hid. When two men came inside I waited holding on tightly to the sword in my hand. When his foot was not even a foot away from me I fought the urge to simply cut it off. We had to make it clean so no screams could be heard from the others outside. So actually, we had to wait to be found. When he knelt down to peek at me under the bed I quickly slashed his throat. His blood squirted to my face – it was nothing I had not experienced before, the only difference that it was a man's blood and not an animal. Though, these were Romans, was there really a difference? Once he was dead I came out of hiding crawling out the other side and the Roman saw me.

He put his sword away and held out his hand. "Come boy." He said. I shook my head refusing to go with him. Frustrated, he walked over to me not seeing the sword I hid behind my back. When he came close enough I quickly slashed his throat as well and he fell with a thud. Then I ran to the other room where Crixus was. We ran back to the door together to see Father still standing there.

"Where are you, you fools?" The leader yelled, but got no answer. He quickly became angry glaring at Father. It was obvious he realized he had been outsmarted. He sent more men to the house this time, ten. I felt my heart quicken in fear, yet Crixus smirked ready for the challenge. This time Father armed himself and charged not letting them through. Then all the men came off their horses. We had to go hide again as they came in from the front and the back. So there were more coming in than I had thought.

All I could hear was Father and the other men screaming from outside, and those that were inside talking to each other as they looked for us. They found the other bodies, but we were smart enough not to hide in the same place twice. They started destroying the house I search of us. I heard Crixus scream as he came out of hiding, apparently he had been found and then I heard dead men hit the floor. Not wanting to leave him to die I came out as well and started fighting alongside him taking a knife in the other hand so I was armed with both.

One of the Romans had set the house on fire, so we were forced to run outside where Father was. We did manage, though, to block the doors – I went through the front and Crixus through the back – sentencing the Romans to burn. I looked around and saw nothing but blood. Then I heard screams that sounded too familiar. I looked over to the bushes where I knew my brothers to be hiding and Romans were heading in that direction. They had been found out. I quickly ran over to help them. I shoved one Roman down before he got to them and then stabbed him. Then I killed the others.

"Godric!" I heard my father call my name. I looked over my shoulder. "Get them out of here!" He ordered. I hesitated, I couldn't just leave only my father and Crixus to fight them all. "Now!" He ordered even louder making me jump and I nodded. I caught up to Taranis and Brennus and took them to the spot we were ordered to ever go if we were in trouble, and father would meet us there. It was a cave the woods, about two miles in. It was our little secret.

Luckily, the three of us made it there safely. I was alright, a little scared – more for my father and Crixus than myself – but the two younger ones were terrified for all of us. Brennus couldn't stop crying since the Romans started chasing them. I tried to make him understand that we were safe now, but he didn't feel safe. I couldn't blame him. The Romans conquered everything everywhere they went, no where was safe from them. However, I had to trust that we'd be safe there until Father came for us. And in the meantime, I was in charge, and had to take care of the others. It was dinner time – the meal mother had been in the middle of cooking – so we were all hungry. I quickly made a spear out of a large stick and went on the hunt for a few rabbits.

A while after we ate and got settled in Brennus started frantically asking his questions. "How long Godric?"

"I wish I knew." I told him honestly as I stoked the fire I built there in the cave.

"When Father gets here will we go find Mother?"

"Yes, Brennus."

"What if they got her?"

"Mother will be fine." I assured him. "She went to Uncle Herne. That is where we will meet her."

"But what if they get there first?"

"Brennus, we will be alright." I said seriously trying to calm him down, because frankly he was getting irritating. I could understand his fear but being frantic wasn't going to help us any. We had to be as calm as possible.

"How do we even know Father and Crixus are still alive?" Taranis added. He was not in hysterics like Brennus was, but he was just as terrified. And when he asked that it only made Brennus more frightened and he started crying again.

"Taranis." I groaned letting him know how mad I was for saying such a thing. Even though I knew the possibility of it as well, I was smart enough not to think it out loud in front of them. He sulked back and kept quiet after that taking Brennus with him to curl up on a blanket and go to sleep. I stayed up to keep watch.

Time went by so slowly as I stared up at the stars and the moon from the cave entrance waiting as patiently as I could for my father and brother. I heard many things go by – deer, wolves, wild cats – but not them. I had heard so many cracks in the dark that none of them startled me anymore. Then I heard a familiar whistle which mimicked a goose which is often found near the water. I immediately jumped to my feet and ran to my father who was tired and bloody, but still he wrapped his arms around me happy that I was alright. "Good boy." He told me. I hugged my brother afterwards who was wounded, but alive. He had a cloth wrapped around his waist to stop the blood flow just above his hip. Father, I noticed, was limping, and had blood spot all over his clothes. It was hard to know, though, whether it was his own blood or not. They had brought three horses with them as well.

The three of us settled by the fire quietly not to wake the others and the two of them quickly grabbed the leftover meat from the rabbits I had caught earlier. "How tired are you son?"

"I am alright, Father." I assured him. I knew he was far more tired than I could be. So I kept watch while he and Crixus laid down to sleep with the others.

When first light came, we were gone again. Father took one horse to himself carrying all the weapons with him, while I rode with Taranis, and Crixus took Brennus. We stayed in the woods away from civilization to stay hidden. Luckily, Father was a master tracker and an excellent guide, so he knew where he was going. He knew the way to our Uncle's village like the back of his hand – it was where he and mother married, and the twins were born there.

We were lucky and made it with no problems by dinner time. Our Aunt – Mother's sister-in-law – was just finishing setting it out when we walked in the door. Mother quickly ran to her husband happily throwing her arms around him. "Thank the gods…You are hurt."

"No, worry not." He groaned as he sat down. His leg hurt him, it was obvious, but a man never admitted pain, he would say. Brennus quickly ran to her jumping up into her arms crying happily.

Mother, though, quickly turned her attention to her injured son. "Crixus, what happened to you?"

"Swords." He stated simply.

"He is strong, stop your worrying."

"I am his mother, that is my duty." She replied angrily, any protective and loving mother would be upset that her baby was hurt. I remembered falling out of tree when I was younger and all Father said was "Get up!". She had scolded him for that.

"He is no longer a child, Elka."

"He is not yet a soldier, either, Cadman. Come on, it needs cleaning." She told Crixus and whisked him away.

I sat down with Taranis next to Father and joined in the meal. We had not eaten all day, so we were hungry. Soon after, Uncle Herne came in as he usually did at that time.

"Oh good, you made it." He said noticing us. He came to sit at the head of the table next to Father. "Any trouble?"

"No. However, it will not be long and they will come here as well."

"Already packed." He replied. "We leave as soon as you are ready."

We left soon after. Not much was said between us, there was no need. We just followed Father and my uncle like little soldiers would on horseback while they led us all through the woods. I didn't know which way we were going, or where their planned destination was. I didn't even care, really, I just wanted to be safe again.

Not long after we left we could hear screams coming from a village behind us. The Romans were catching up. And to make it worse, a storm came in and we were all soaked to the bone within minutes.

I could feel my little brother burrow closer to me, as if it were even possible, for shelter from the cold rain. I saw Mother's horse catch up to Father's and I knew what she was saying without being able to hear the conversation. Sure enough she was telling him that we – the children – needed to get out of the rain before we became ill. Especially the younger ones. However, we didn't stop. Uncle Herne said something, it wasn't loud enough for me to hear. Mother didn't seem to like whatever he said, but frankly she was a woman, she didn't have to.

We rode for another hour or so and came to a small canyon. The river had eroded the ground over time and now it flowed thirty feet below us. The only way across was down a very narrow and dangerous ledge. We had to get off the horses to lead them down. I made my little brother stay on while I walked, as did anyone else riding with a child. As I walked down the steep hill of the ledge I could hear the loose stones falling down the side. Then I slipped on one. Brennus screamed as I slipped over the ledge, but I was able to grab a hold of the ledge before I fell to the river. Everyone in front of us stopped.

"Crixus!" I called pointing to me as I hung there. I looked below me and saw the water, it even looked cold, I could only imagine how it felt. I didn't want to find out. "Help!"

Crixus quickly came to my aid backing up his horse. He couldn't go around, there was no room, she had to go backwards. Once he got to me he knelt down to take my hand. "I got him!" Crixus shouted.

But he was drowned out by yet another scream, one I recognized – Tamsin.

"Tamsin!" I heard my mother call, no doubt she was frantic in tears. I quickly looked down over my shoulder and saw my sister fall into the water. "No!" Mother cried again. Then we saw another person fall in feet first. It was either Father or Uncle Herne, I couldn't tell which. More likely, though, it was Father. "Cadman!" That answered my question.

Crixus quickly pulled me up. Once I was back up on the ledge I took a moment to calm my pounding heart before it came out of my chest. "You alright?" He asked. I quickly nodded my head. I had never been so frightened in my life, but I was alive. We rushed as quickly as we could down the ledge until we reached the others, and Uncle Herne rushed us some more to get down to the river to catch up with Father and Tamsin.

Once we were down on the level ground again we quickly got back on the horses and ran them as hard as we could looking for them.

"Cadman?" Mother cried. "Tamsin?"

"Momma!" We heard Tamsin scream in complete fear. Uncle Herne rode faster pulling away from us taking a rope in his hand. It was the rope he used to catch the livestock when they ran off. He rode alongside Tamsin as she floated down the rushing river.

"Catch her Cadman!" Uncle Herne yelled. They were running out of time. A waterfall was coming.

"Herne!" Mother cried seeing the cliff.

"Cadman!" Uncle Herne urged again. Father finally caught her and Uncle Herne threw the rope he'd been twirling in the air. Father caught it just in time and it kept them from going over the fall. Uncle Herne quickly turned his horse around so he could pull them out with the rope. Mother quickly dismounted and ran to the river's edge to help pull my sister out as Father pushed. Once she was out Crixus helped pull Father out of the water.

"Momma." Tamsin cried against Mother as she shivered soaking wet.

"You are safe now." Mother soothed wiping away her own tears as she wrapped Tamsin in a blanket. Then she looked down at Father who was laying there on the ground breathing heavily and coughing up water. She took his hand kissing it to show her love and gratefulness that he was alright. He kissed her hand in return. Tamsin had been riding with Father, so I imagined how guilty he felt that she fell. At least she was alright now. The both of us.

We made it to the site that Uncle Herne knew – a cave in the side of a mountain. It was pretty deep, and kept us safe from the storm. Father and Tamsin cuddled up together by the fire to keep warm so they wouldn't fetch a cold, or worse. Mother in the meantime tended to my hands which got scraped up pretty good from the rocks on the ledge. She cleaned them and then wrapped them with cloth. Once that was done she tucked us in – Brennus and I.

I was startled awake as I heard screaming and swords crashing. The fire was out, only smoke was left as proof there had ever been a fire. I quickly stood up protecting Brennus as I backed us against the wall of the cave. I saw Mother crying and screaming as one of the soldiers picked up my infant brother, Coran and then tossed him back to her. By the look in her eyes I could tell that he had died. I saw no blood on him, so the Roman didn't kill him. He must have died of cold during the night after the storm. Knowing what Father would want me to do, I quickly rushed Brennus deeper into the cave. I saw Taranis curled up against the wall as well so I shoved him along too.

"Run!" I told them. "I am right behind you. Go!" They ran away from me, however, I couldn't run with them yet. I needed a weapon. So I ran to Father's sack and started rummaging through it looking for a suitable weapon to carry – like a sword. Then I was grabbed up from the back of my shirt. I turned to see a Roman soldier. I could almost see my reflection in his armor.

"What does a boy like you think he is going to do with that sword?" I didn't understand what he was saying, but I could still see the smug grin and cockiness that all Romans shared. I took the sword and swung it at him forcing him to let me go. We dueled for a minute, and to his surprise I was able to cut him across the leg making him fall to his knee. I stood there showing no fear, just like Father taught me, pointing the sword at him waiting. He became angry and snarled at me getting to his feet. I was no match for him, and I was quickly disarmed.

Everything around me was a blur. I didn't understand how this could have happened. Uncle Herne must have fallen asleep in the middle of the night. When I looked at the cave entrance there he was…dead. He was shot through the head with an arrow. From the entrance I saw Mother screaming as she was being carried away by two soldiers who were stripping her clothes off. It was obvious what they intended to do with her. Father was enraged and ran after her, but was quickly put down and I watched as two swords stabbed through him – one in his chest and one in his stomach. He fell to the ground with blood flowing from his mouth.

"Father!" I cried, and I wasn't the only one. I looked over hearing Crixus and there he was being dragged away with his hands bound by chains as he screamed. I quickly remembered my brothers deep in the cave and looked that way. "Run boys! Run! Keep running! Do not stop!" I kept telling them as I was carried away. Unfortunately, I saw more soldiers run inside and they ran deeper into the cave. "No! Taranis! Brennus! No!" I struggled as much as I could crying for my brothers not wanting them to be captured too. I was carried outside and thrown into a carriage of bars like a prisoner. I looked ahead of me and saw Crixus in one as well gripping the bars crying for Mother. I whipped my head around and saw Mother lying on the ground with a Roman on top of her as she cried. "Mother!" I cried. Then the carriage jerked as it started to move. "Get off her! Mother!" I kept crying for her even after I couldn't see her anymore.

In less than five minutes my whole life was taken from me. All I had left was Crixus in front of me. I didn't know where Tamsin had disappeared to. I imagined that she ran, and I prayed that she got away. We were in those carriages for days, going back the way we came. We even passed our village which had been turned into ash, but I still knew it was the one. There was so much blood on the ground, but no bodies. They were all piled in ditches alongside the road.

After a while I had been in that carriage so long I lost track of the days. I was starved, my stomach clenching and growling. I was dehydrated - my lips felt like sand, and my throat was sore. I kept telling myself at least I had Crixus, we would get out of this and we would go home and find our brothers and sister. Then one day we came to a fork in the road and I watched as Crixus disappeared going the other way.

"No…No…Godric!"

"Crixus!" I cried for him like I had my mother. I had no more tears left in my body. Yet I kept crying…until everything went dark.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Appius Livius Ocella**

**88 BC – 84BC**

Not long after being separated with the only family member I had left – my older brother Crixus – I ended up crying myself to sleep. When I woke up, I was being poked with a sword by a soldier who had opened the carriage. Seeing that I was awake, he began yelling at me trying to make me understand what he was saying, but he was wasting his time.

"Adveho in, puer! (Come on boy!)" He yelled tugging hard at the rope tied around my wrists. He dragged me to the door and then threw me out making me fall to the ground. I groaned in pain as the rough gravel of the road jabbed and tore at my skin. When I stood up, my knees were bloody. They quickly pulled me along by that rope. The city I was in was as strange to me as if I were in a different world. The buildings were pure stone and extremely large compared to our wooden huts back home. I got too caught up in looking around that I wasn't keeping up with the soldier and he quickly yanked the rope yelling at me again and I fell to the ground. Next thing I knew I felt a sharp sting – a pain worse than anything I'd ever felt before – repeatedly. I wondered if my brother was going through this kind of pain as well. After a while of being beaten, they picked me up and shoved me forward urging me to walk again. I was in so much pain it was hard to stay on my feet when my body just wanted to give in and keel over.

One of the soldiers kicked me in the behind knocking me to my hands and knees. "Permoveo, vos spurcus Gaul! (Get moving you filthy Gaul!)"

I wondered what would make these people so cruel, especially to a boy like me who had done nothing wrong. Granted, I had killed Romans, but it was in self defense. They were the ones attacking us for no reason.

Finally we made it into the city and I noticed a long line of people – men, women, and children – chained up like I was. All around us were more Romans, I guess wealthy ones by the way they were dressed. One by one those in the line in front of me stood up on a wooden pedestal and the Romans argued. I didn't understand what was going on, but it didn't seem to be good for those of us in line.

Eventually I made it up there and after the Romans argued like they did with everyone else, I was thrown off and taken over to one of the men who was standing in the shadows with another man holding an umbrella over his head. As they handed me over I watched the man hand over a small pouch that jingled. I realized it was money inside and I had just been bought.

He had bought another young man, who seemed to be about my age, and then we left the city in a carriage. The two of us were put in the back behind bars yet again. The young man I quickly realized was a Gaul like myself. I had heard him mutter something under his breath, and it was a relief to hear the words I recognized.

"You are a Gaul?" I asked him quickly.

"You are too?" He asked in return.

"I am Godric, son of Cadman, from the sea. You?"

"Anwill, son of Angor, from the East, my village was one of the first sacked." He told me, and I felt bad for him. I at least had a chance to run, but he had none. "They came fast and fiercely with at least one hundred men. My father was killed once he ran out of the house. Then they took my siblings and I. One of my sisters was back there and sold to another man, and I do not know where my other siblings are."

"Neither do I." I whispered. "I was with my brother, but we came to a fork in the road and I watched his carriage go the other way."

"This is awful. I cannot imagine what they are going to do to us."

I didn't even want to think about that. I laid there staring up at the wooden ceiling worrying about my brothers and sister.

After about half an hour of riding we made it to a large estate on the edge of the city. One of the men took us both out.

"Get those two bathed and dressed, then show them to their duties." The Roman said as he walked by. A woman was standing in the doorway waiting for him with a smile on her face, and I guessed that was his wife. We were grabbed by more of his men and led inside through the side door. It was a poorer part of the estate, it was where those like us stayed. As I walked in I saw them pouring water into a large tub and they pushed us inside together after stripping us of our clothes.

Once we were clean they put new clothes on us, which was nothing but a white skirt around my waist and sandals. Then we were shown around the estate by other slaves.

"Vos ero famulus Dominus. (You will be serving Dominus.)" He told us. The two of us looked at each other confused. We had no idea what any of them were saying. He showed us around the villa, which was a wide and open area of glamorous and expensive belongings. There were rooms along the far wall. No doors, only curtains between them. They were nearly see-through and flowed in the breeze like waves of water. It reminded me of home and I became very homesick.

"Es illa novus manicipium? (Are these the new slaves?)" A woman asked. She was quite beautiful. She was tall and pale dressed in a flowing silk dress of red with white underneath. Her curly blonde hair held white and red feathers as decorations. She also carried a fan in her hand, she slowly waved it back and forth to cool herself off from the hot and arid climate.

Our guide bowed his head to look at the floor. "Etiam, Domina. (Yes, my lady.)"

She came closer to us and looked each of us over. Her hand came to my face forcing it up and she studied me looking deep into my eyes. I figured it was wrong, but I stared back unafraid. Then she let go of me after a moment and walked around the back of us. She did the same to Anwill, grabbing him by the chin.

"Es etiamnunc tamen puera (They are yet but boys)." She muttered. "Vero, quis vira vires planto (However, what men they may make)."

"Operor vos animadverto quispiam vos amo , meus carus?** (**Do you see something to your liking, my dear?)" The master said to his wife.

"Ego sum non certus. Tantum vicis mos dico. (I am not sure. Only time will tell.)" She said and then walked away. He went with her and we were able to relax.

Three years later

My master was Appius Livius Ocella. Appius was a senator, a very important man among the Romans. His so-called wife was of no importance. After a year I had learned how to understand the Roman language (Latin). After you get beat enough times for not doing what you're told you learn how to listen. Within that time more slaves had come, yet Anwill remained my closest friend. There was one other, though, that I came to trust. His name was Calix. I suppose he reminded me of my older brother, as he was the same age. However, he wasn't a Gaul like we were, he was a Celt. Dominus had taken quite a liking to Calix, and he became Dominus' right hand who never left his side.

One night Calix was sent out with Anwill and some of the guards to run one of Dominus' personal errands. Dominus must have gotten lonely without Calix. While I was working within the villa I noticed a few servants going into his room one by one. And I saw one go into Domina's room (Mrs. Ocella). He never came back out, unlike those in Dominus' room. After about three servants Dominus stepped out of his room wiping his mouth with a towel and looked to me while I poured water into the small and shallow pool in the middle of the villa.

"Godric." He called and I looked to him setting down the jug of water.

"Dominus?" I bowed my head as I was required to, though I hated doing it. He held out his hand ushering me forward and I slowly walked to him looking behind me to the man that just left his room. He was older than I, about sixteen. "Quam vetus es vos iam? (How old are you now?)"

"Tredecim, Dominus (thirteen)."

"Tredecim." He said seeming like he was taking it into consideration – trying to make up his mind on what he was going to do. Finally, he sighed and said, "Non vetus setis (not old enough)." Then he shooed me away. "Se gero (Carry on)."

I bowed my head compliantly. "Dominus." Then turned around and went back to my duties. When I went back to the quarters for the night I noticed the other boys. One of them was right next to me and he was still holding his neck. I came closer and looked out of curiosity. I couldn't resist. He quickly pushed me away, but not before I saw what was there. He had two small puncture wounds which had bruised over.

It wasn't for another year that I learned the cause of those wounds. Apparently, Appius had decided fourteen was old enough and he started taking me into his room with the others.

I was fetching water from the well and then one of the other slaves came out. I turned around and saw the only friend I had, Anwill. "Godric, vos es accersitus (You are summoned)." He told me. Those words were my worst nightmare. The only time I was ever summoned was when Appius got lonely and wanted to rid himself of his desires by abusing me. I couldn't wait for the day I could punish him for all the abuse. At the time, though, I was nothing but a slave and couldn't do anything about it.

I complied hesitantly and gave the water jug to Anwill. "Take this to the stores." I told him. Every night we gathered water from the well to last us through the night. Then I made my way inside the villa, and then to Appius' quarters where he was waiting for me. I didn't see him, but I knew that didn't mean he wasn't there. So I waited in the middle of the room. Then he came up from behind me biting my neck to feed until I was weak enough that I couldn't put up a fight. I had many scars on my neck from where he had bitten me at least once a week for the last few months. He only had men serving him personally like myself and Anwill, and we were all his puppets to use as he pleased when he pleased. The woman slaves were for his wife who he never slept with; she was more for appearances to appease the other Romans. She was a vampire as well, but nothing more to him than a house guest. She could even sleep with any of the men she pleased. Anwill had become her chosen lover last year saving him from Appius. I envied him for that. She had me a few times once I came of age, but I guess I wasn't her type.

Once Appius weakened me he threw me on the bed so that I was lying on my stomach and I just laid there knowing what was coming. I wanted to fight, but I couldn't. So I dreamed of it behind my eyelids to try and ignore the pain of what he was doing to me. When it was over he cut his arm like usual and put it to my mouth making me drink his blood to heal the wounds.

In the books Appius is Eric's maker rather than Godric. Since, they ditched that idea for True Blood, I decided might as well use him in some way, so now he's Godric's Maker – as Appius was Roman and Godric we know was a Roman slave turned by his master.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Breaking the Law**

**78 BC**

Fourteen was the age in which I became old enough to be tortured, and then sixteen came and I was old enough to be turned. Appius had decided that he wanted me around for eternity. So one night, like every other, I came to his room. However, this time when I got there he wasn't alone. I was beyond surprised to hear noises I recognized – grunts and moans – coming from deeper in the room. I walked over to the side wall where there was another curtain. My eyes fell on something I thought I would never see. Appius on the floor, and Calix above him. Quickly, both of their eyes moved upwards to stare at me and I panicked. I ran from the room as quickly as I could, yet it wasn't fast enough. I kept looking behind me only to run into Calix who was standing in front of me. I realized Appius had turned Calix. I knew he and his wife were vampires, they hadn't hidden that secret from us, merely glamoured us so we couldn't tell anyone else.

"Where are you going, Godric?" Calix asked smugly with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I –I…" I stammered uncertain of what I could say. I didn't know if I was in trouble for leaving, or for seeing what I saw. "I am sorry, I did not mean to – "

"Relax, Godric." Calix said placing his hands on my shoulders as he looked down upon me like an older brother. "You have nothing to be ashamed of. We knew you were coming."

"You did? Then why – "

Calix chuckled softly. "Why not?...Come." He turned me around and led me back into the bedroom where Appius was waiting.

"Dominus." I said softly with fear as I bowed my head.

"You are not in trouble, dear one." He assured me holding out his hand for me. I took it hesitantly and he pulled me in to look at me closely. "You have grown so much since you first came to me." He said softly as he looked me up and down. It made me feel uncomfortable – the desire I could see in his eyes. It sickened me, but I was at his mercy. There was nothing I could do to escape him. I could try, but I would die. "Now, you are a man. Like Calix here, and as such I have decided it is time that I give you the ultimate gift I have bestowed upon him."

"I – I do not understand." I stammered. I had a feeling it was the thing I feared since I found out what he was the first night he fed on me. I didn't want to be like him. I wanted to be who I was meant to be, my father's son, the next great Gaul leader. I wanted nothing to do with the Romans, especially the one standing before me.

"You will." He assure me just before he struck at my throat as he usually did. He brought me to the ground and then I felt another sharp sting as Calix joined in biting my wrist. Soon – much sooner than usual – everything went blurry and distorted as I became weak and near death. Then it all went black.

The Next Night

When I opened my eyes again I thought I had gone blind. I couldn't see anything but darkness. Panicking I felt around me and my limbs hit something hard on all sides. Slowly, my eyes adjusted to the darkness, and I could see the wood that surrounded me. Was I buried alive? I was frightened, and my breath caught in my throat. I felt strange. I was hungry, hungrier than normal like I hadn't eaten in a week. I tried to scream, but no sound came out. So I made noise by banging against the wood. Yet when I hit it, it cracked and broke. How was that possible? Then it dawned on me what had happened. My worst fear. He had turned me like he had Calix. He made me what he was. As the realization sunk in I became overwhelmed with so many emotions I didn't know which one to act on – the anger, the fear, or the despair. They all lashed out at once and broke the wood open and climbed out through the loose dirt to the top where Appius and Calix were waiting for me.

"Ah, it is about time." Calix sighed. Apparently, I hadn't dug fast enough.

"What did you do to me?" I screamed at the two of them, yet I pointed to Appius knowing he was truly the one to blame.

"Relax, dear one, I have only give you my gift. Now you shall have my unyielding devotion for all of eternity."

"I do not want it." I rasped through my teeth angrily.

"You do not have that choice." He said rushing to stand directly in front of me. "You are mine."

"You have Calix." I retorted.

"I want both of you, and I get what I want." He grabbed me harshly by the arm and drug me back to the villa where the other servants were waiting by the tub. "Clean him up." He ordered. "I want him bathed in oils, and give him anything he desires." He said and they all bowed like the good, glamoured servants they were. "I am sure he is hungry." He added with a smirk then walked away.

That was the first time I realized I wasn't wearing any clothes. He had buried me not only alive, but naked. How kind. I walked into the water and sank feeling the warmth against my cold skin. When two of them came to me with washing rags I shoved them away. The last thing I wanted was to be touched. I had more than enough of being touched. I took the rag from them. "I can do it myself!" I yelled making them all jump and they left me be for the time being. Now that I was alone, I allowed myself to fall into the despair I had been holding. Tears of blood streamed down my face to remind me of what I had become. I would never be able to see my family again now. Even if they were still alive. My dreams had all been torn away from me. The only thing that was left now was to exact my revenge and create a new plan for my life. First, before I could be free of him, I had to learn how to be a vampire. My sense were in overdrive and without control I would go insane.

After the bath they took me back to Appius who seemed pleased to see me so. He came over in admiration and kissed my temple, though I tried to turn away from it.

"How can you resist me?" He asked. "I am your maker now, Godric. You do as I tell you, and you feel what I tell you."

"Which is?" I asked. I didn't really want to know, but without knowing I could end up in serious trouble for not complying.

"You are to love and please me like you have these past three years since I first brought you to my bed. First, however, you need to feed." He snapped his fingers and one of the boys came in. I knew right away what he wanted me to do to the boy, and I knew I should feel sick, but I felt anxious instead. My stomach groaned in hunger. The boy stood before me waiting with his neck exposed, but I could only stare. Then, Appius sighed unpleased with my hesitation and slice the boys neck with his fingernail causing him to bleed. The scent hit my nose like a hammer and I could no longer resist. Next thing I knew I had the boy pinned to the floor as I drained the life from him. Then I did it again to a second and a third. Once I was full and strong Appius had his way with me. I think it was to assert his control, to prove to me he was still stronger than I was.

It took only two more years (76BC) for me to fully grasp what I was and to control it. Appius, of course, claimed otherwise, but I was only interested in knowing enough to be able to survive on my own. Once I was satisfied I began to plan my revenge and my escape.

I knew I could not defeat Appius on my own, let alone both he and Calix. I had to devise a strategy. Anwill was still my closest friend, the only man I could count on. He knew what I was, for he knew what Appius and Adorabella were. I suspected that Adorabella had plans to make Anwill her lover for eternity as Appius had me. I wished to spare him that fate. So I went to him with a plan to spare both of us.

"My friend, I must ask the biggest of favors from you." I told him as I cornered him in the cellar. He was on his way to see Domina (Adorabella) as usual.

"Godric, not now."

"No, now, or else never." I told him urgently. "We must do this before Calix returns." Calix had gone away on business, he always took care of Appius' dirty affairs. "Please." I begged.

He sighed somewhat unwilling, but he agreed. "I am listening."

"I – we must escape this place and I know a way."

"Godric, you are speaking nonsense. It is impossible and even if we did escape they would find and murder us."

"No, no they will not." I assured him stopping him once again before he made it to the stairs. "Because they will think you are already dead."

His eyes blinked quickly as he tried to process what I had just said, but failed. "Come again?"

"We can fake your death. Adorabella cannot have you like Appius does me, I will not allow it. The only way to spare you is to make her believe you are gone forever, if she believes you have fled she will find you."

"What if I wish to be with her?" He asked me which caught me off guard. He couldn't be serious. "You know them. They use their spells on us to make us love them."

"But you do not!" I reminded him. "Once you are away you will forget about her. And she will forget about you and find a new pet to play with."

"How do you suggest we do all this, huh?"

"I have a plan." I said. "You must trust me."

"You wish to fake my death, meaning you have to harm me." He said understanding completely. "No one will believe I am dead without evidence, and what evidence speaks more than blood."

"I wish there was another way." I told him, and it was true. I didn't want to hurt him, but he was right. "I will not hinder your ability to flee, I cannot weaken you too much."

"I trust you, Godric. I do." He said placing his hand on my shoulder. "But how will I escape?"

"With Calix gone, I am Appius' hand. If I tell the guards to do something under Appius' orders they will do so. So I put you in a box and tell the guards the box holds a gift to be sent. Once you are far enough way, get out of the box, kill the guards, steal a horse, and run."

"Adorabella will not believe I am dead with just blood."

"I know. That is why I take your clothes, put them on another man and burn his body to make it look like Appius killed you and tried to destroy the evidence."

"That is your plan?" He asked. He didn't seem to trust it. "To turn her against her own husband?"

"They can barely look each other in the eye. They only live together for appearances." I reminded him. "So will you do it or not?" I asked impatiently as we were running out of time.

He thought for a moment. He knew Domina would be calling for him soon, she had a schedule to keep. Then he sighed. "Alright, come on." He urged exposing his neck.

"Forgive me." I pleaded just before I leapt on him taking him to the ground. I scratched him in a few places to make his clothes stained with blood. The hard part, though, was to make the floor bloody enough that it looked like he would die from it. I had no choice but bit into his neck and then his leg and watch the blood flow freely from his body. He slowly weakened as he lost more blood. However, before he passed out I cut open my wrist with my fingernail and forced him to drink my blood to heal himself. He was still weak so I picked him up and carried him back to the quarters where I had the box waiting. After stripping him of his bloody clothes, I put him inside and drilled some holes in it so he could breathe and then carried it with some help from the other slaves who I glamoured.

The guards stopped us as I knew they would when he went outside. "Halt. What is that?"

"A gift from Dominus, that he wishes to be sent to his fellow senators." I told them. "He is busy here and regrets his absence from the senate, so he sends this to make his apologies." I handed them the scroll with his forged signature and seal.

The guard nodded to the others and they all lifted the box into the carriage and took off with it as I knew they would. As happy as I was that my plan was set into motion I had to keep a straight face, I was still under pressure to act or else my plan would fail. Now that I had his blood on me there was still one last thing to do. I took his clothes and put them on some random man that I killed who slightly resembled Anwill and threw him into the fire pit behind the villa, where Appius and Adorabella discarded all their dead. After it started to burn I put on my best façade and ran as fast as I could to Domina with tears flowing down my face.

"Halt!" Said her guard. She always kept guards outside her room to keep any intruders out. "State your business."

"I must speak to Domina immediately." I said slowly as any upset person would do. "Please! It is about Anwill." I added and I heard footsteps from inside.

Then she was pulling the curtain back to stare at me. "Godric…what happened?" She asked with concern.

"Anwill…" I whispered.

"Anwill? What is wrong with Anwill?" She asked quickly. I could see the fear in her face due to her lover. I knew she could sense his fear, which was another reason why I had to attack him rather than simply causing him to bleed.

"Come! Quickly!" I implored and rushed out as fast as I could still crying.

She quickly followed as I told her to and I led her outside to the fire pit where the stranger's body was over half-burned away. Seeing Anwill's clothes and a man with the same hair and Anwill's ring on his finger, she fell to her knees in tears. "It cannot be." She whispered. "He cannot be dead."

"I am sorry, Domina." I cried next to her. "Anwill was my closest friend, I tried to help him. But who am I to stand against my maker?" I asked.

In shock, her eyes widened and she gazed at me as if trying to read my thoughts. Was I lying or not? "Are you saying this was Appius' doing?" She asked.

Pretending to be commanded by my maker and therefore unable to tell her the truth I simply keeled over resting my forehead to the ground and cried harder. She seemed to get the message as she quickly became angry and vengeful. "Show me where this happened, Godric." She rasped. "I need to see it."

I complied and led her inside to the cellar where the giant puddle of blood was on the floor. It was scattered to make it look like a struggle at least. Anwill was devoted to her, he wouldn't have given himself freely to Appius. And I knew she believed that was why Appius killed him. I kept my face to the ground to be convincing, not lifting until I heard her run away. Once she disappeared into the villa I quickly made my way in through another entrance. Appius had a secret entrance which led to his room. It was one of his ways to sneak boys inside without being seen. I waited inside the room while he was out being scolded by Adorabella.

"How could you?" She yelled.

"Woman, keep your voice down." He ordered through his teeth not wanting to draw attention.

"How could you?" She only screamed louder.

"I do not know what you are talking about." He said.

"Anwill! You murdered my Anwill!"

It took him a moment to process the accusation. "What?"

"Do not pretend. I saw the body. How dare you burn him like some stranger!"

"I do not know what you are talking about Adorabella!" He said again with frustration. "I never laid a finger on Anwill. He is your human."

"Yes, yes he was. I loved him. And now you stole him from me!"

"I swear to you I have not."

"Then where is he?" She asked demanding proof of his innocence. It was hard to keep a straight face seeing my plan working so perfectly.

"He must have run away. We can find him!"

"NO!" She screamed not believing his lies. "I felt his fear. You attacked him!"

"Then where is the proof?" He demanded.

"I saw the body."

"The body could be anyone, Adorabella. Do not be fooled." He told her.

"I also saw the blood, Appius. You cannot lie to me!" She grabbed him angrily and led him back to the cellar where the blood was. "Now tell me you have done nothing!" She screamed throwing him on top of the puddle angrily. His white clothes turned red instantly. I followed them there without being seen. Waiting for the opportune moment to take my revenge and kill Appius myself. As well as Adorabella. "I trusted you."

"I swear to you Adorabella, you are mistaken. Someone is tricking you."

I watched her jump on top of him in anger and they fought. Sunrise was coming, and I had built a trap door in the wall. Once I opened it they would burn in the sun and I would forever be rid of them. I knew she would lead him back there, and even if she didn't I always had a contingency plan. When the time was right, I pulled hard on the rope in my hand and the window came crashing down releasing the sunlight. I heard them both scream as they were engulfed in the light and set on fire. As they tried to escape the light I rushed in front of them while keeping the shadows. I had two stakes in my hands and quickly stabbed them both in the hearts reducing them to bloody mush on the ground.

Realizing I had won, that I was finally free I fell to my knees. I sat there for a moment letting relief wash over me. I didn't even care that I was covered in their blood. The proof of my guilt. I just laughed to myself happy that it was over. Unfortunately, I couldn't sit and gloat for long, Calix would be back soon. So I had to find a way out of there. Calix, I knew would be arriving by carriage. It was the only way to save him from the sun. And the front of the villa was built to keep the sunlight out. Something no one ever noticed, oddly enough, or at least not enough to be suspicious. So I waited for him to get out of the carriage as I hid in the shadows. Once he was out and inside the villa, I snuck in and glamoured the driver to take me away from there as quickly as possible. The carriage was supposed to leave anyway so Calix wouldn't pay any mind. He wouldn't know anything until he went looking for Appius and found the blood in the cellar, which could be minutes. That was all the time I needed to get into town and switch carriages. He would never find me. I wanted to find my brothers, but I knew that would be nearly impossible with the Romans searching for me. As well as the other vampires for killing my maker and Adorabella. Then again, I was also no longer human. If I found my brothers, I might be compelled to kill them like prey. I could never bear that. Perhaps, it would be best to just disappear.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: First Sight**

**36 BC**

It had been weeks since running away from Rome after killing my maker and I find myself in Lower Egypt of all places. Trying to escape the Roman Empire is no easy feat. I felt like I had run hiding in the wilderness for years, rather than weeks.

As I walked around in the sand I found tracks that looked like wheel tracks. There was more than one – it looked like a caravan had passed through. A caravan meant a lot of people, and a lot people meant buffet to choose from. I wasn't hungry at the moment, but I would be by the time I found the caravan. I followed the tracks for the rest of the night. It was nearly dawn by the time I found them, luckily I could not yet feel the sun burning my skin. As I sat there looking down from the giant sand dune, the wind blew across, and I could smell fresh blood on the air. The sweet scent of it made my stomach churn and my throat burn as desire coursed through my body from hunger. I couldn't hold it back anymore as I heard the screams get louder and louder from below. I ran down the hill as fast as I could…only to find there was a reason for the screams other than just a mere accident. I came around the corner of one of the carts to see a young woman leaning down over a man who appeared to be dying as she drained him of blood.

The last thing I was interested in was fighting another vampire for territory, however I became overwhelmed with hunger. I looked to the crying woman behind the female vampire and became ready for the pounce. In a fit of sorrow she flung herself onto the vampire to stop her from killing the man. Before she reached the vampire I leapt to her tackling her to the ground ready to feed. Unfortunately, the other vampire wasn't going to let me join in apparently as she angrily pulled me off of the screaming woman.

I looked to her ready for a battle. The glare I was getting from her got me unlike any other. Her dark brown eyes glistened in the moonlight, like her long raven hair. Her clothes were interesting, to say the least, the way they left half of her body uncovered, and they were white and stained with blood. Then I heard the crying woman whisper a name in sadness and disbelief. "Samira." That caught my attention and I stared to the vampire in front of me who was no longer looking to me for a fight. She was afraid, she was sad, and I could see blood begin to form in the corner of her eyes. I realized this poor girl had attacked her own family. I watched her turn and run away. I looked behind me again to the crying woman who grasped her husband burying her face in his chest as he cried with her. They cradled their other children, who were also crying hysterically – a young teenage boy and an infant. I understood that they were more heartbroken at losing their child/sister than they were afraid. I lost my appetite and quickly left them to their sorrow. I found the young girl a couple miles away cradling herself on the ground in tears. She saw me and flinched.

Thinking that perhaps she would know the Roman language, that's what I spoke in. "Ego vilis vos haud vulnero. (I mean you no harm)." I assured her holding my hands up in surrender.

She gave me a confused look and I realized we were going to have a communication problem. This girl was Egyptian. I knew only Gaul and Roman (Latin). "sy yoo too (Who are you)?" She asked me; unfortunately I didn't understand her either. There was another problem though, that needed to be taken care of first…I was starving. I knew I couldn't go back to the caravan without angering this girl. Also, without knowing whether or not she was older and therefore stronger than I was I wasn't going to test her. So I left her to her tears while I rushed off to find someone.

A few miles away I found a straggler. Whether or not he was part of the caravan I found, I didn't know, but frankly I didn't care. I threw him to the ground and drained him. When I returned to where I had left the girl known as Samira – or at least I figured that was her name, it could have been another word which I did not understand – she was gone.

Days later I caught a scent I recognized and couldn't help myself out of curiosity. I hid in the shadows, it was late and the sun was slowly working its way down the horizon. I couldn't believe the sight before me, she was sitting there beside the Nile river, drinking from it. Not only was she drinking something that wasn't blood, but she was doing it in the sunlight. Had I been dreaming mistaking a cannibal for a vampire? Or was I dreaming now? As if to test that thought I reached out putting my hand into the light, then quickly jerked it back to my body feeling the burn almost instantly. No I wasn't dreaming.

She must have caught my scent as well as she stood looking over her shoulder to face me. Her eyes squinted trying to focus on me while her hand blocked the sun from their gaze. Next thing I knew she was standing directly in front of me. "Is! (Go!)" She said to me before disappearing again.

I waited until night fell again and now just completely intrigued in this woman I followed her scent for miles and miles up the Nile into Upper Egypt. When we reached the city known as Thebes, I thought she had stopped as I lost her scent. However I couldn't find her anywhere in the city, which was empty due to everyone being in their beds sleeping. I went back to the river where I lost her scent and realized she must have crossed in an attempt to elude me. I thought for a moment about going back and not wasting my time on such a ridiculous thing, but she intrigued me too much. I ran as fast as I could praying I catch up to her before daylight.

Finally, I tracked her down to an oasis on the East side of the river. I was happy to see it, yet frustrated at the same time, because moving east meant moving away from civilization, therefore moving away from the food supply. She may be able to drink water, but neither I nor any other vampire could. I was starving already as I stumbled through the hot sand to sneak up on her as she swam in the small pool there. I thought it was odd that she was swimming with her dress on, but then again it was covered in blood and she was expecting me. It would have taken a human days to travel this far. I knew I couldn't stay there, however, for a day waiting for night to return. So I had to trust that she would stay there, and I had to find my way back to civilization for food and shelter.

The next night I returned to find her still there. As I climbed back up into the tree as I had before I could hear her crying below, and splashing the water. When I jumped down she quickly whipped around to glare at me in anger. I could see then why she was crying. The bleeds had started, she was starving herself, probably a half-witted attempt at suicide. She was probably also frustrated that I kept following her, which I didn't blame her for, I would be angry too if I had someone stalking me, but I couldn't help it. I had to know how she was able to walk in the sun. How I missed daytime and being able to feel the sun on my skin without it burning. She quickly grabbed a knife from under her dress prepared to fight me off if she had to. I held up my hands again to show her I meant no harm.

"Is! (Go!)" She yelled at me again, but I shook my head not understanding her. I slowly came closer to her and as I did I could see her hand with the dagger start to shake. I kept my hands up by my head until I got close enough that I could quickly disarm her and threw the dagger into the water and watched it sink. She fell onto her backside in fear holding up her hand praying that I wouldn't hurt her. I had seen that face many times on many different people, but it had never mattered to me these last couple decades since my former master turned me. Now, seeing it on her face, it halted me. I crouched down in front of her and she tried to scoot away, but I grabbed hold of her feet and pulled her to me. Frankly, I was getting frustrated with the communication difficulty, I wanted her to understand, I wanted to ask her so many questions, and I couldn't.

Suddenly, I thought of a way to possibly get her to trust me. She was obviously young and new to the vampire lifestyle as she was upset over the bleeds, so I decided I had to help her. "Exspecto hic (Wait here)." I told her softly and then disappeared into the darkness. I returned hours later with a freshly dead corpse for her to feed on unsure if she would be up to killing anyone else after her ordeal. She hesitated as it was, even with a dead man. Yet her hunger overwhelmed her and she attacked his neck quickly.

Now the only problem left was learning how to understand each other.

_**One year later**_

Samira and I sat together on opposite sides of the fire. She seemed to be lost in thought which she did a lot. Her head rested on her hand as she poked the fire with a stick. We hadn't really warmed up to each other that much. I felt like I was just her teacher and unless I was teaching her we had nothing to talk about.

Then, to my surprise – "Why did you help me?" She asked looking up over the fire.

"I…" I stammered not knowing exactly how to answer as I was caught off guard. In the year we'd been together she had never asked anything of me, never been curious even to ask where I was from or anything about my life. "You were obviously new to this and you were alone."

"Are you sure it was not because of my – because I'm different?" She asked.

"Your Gaul has improved." I said trying to change the subject. I didn't want to admit that that was what actually intrigued me and drew me to her. The fact that she was alone though, intrigued me as well – that was something we shared. I no longer had a maker, I killed him. I never asked her what happened to her maker. "Out of curiosity, why were you alone? What happened to your maker?" In response she cocked her head to the side curiously. "The person that turned you."

"I do not know. I never met them."

"What?"

She nodded her head confirming what she had said earlier. "I woke up alone, underground, and dug my way out. There was no one around so I just ran." She explained. "I went to find my family."

"That night I found you." I said realizing where she was going with her story. She nodded slowly and then cracked as she began to cry remembering what she had done. She had tried to kill her own family. The last thing I wanted to listen to was her cries, so I got up from my seat and rushed to her side. "Do not cry." I pleaded. "You cannot go through eternity holding this guilt, it will tear you apart."

Angrily she quickly stood pushing me away. "You do not understand. You can never understand." Then she ran off.

She was definitely frustrating. Her emotions were always far too unstable, which made it hard for her to accept the life she'd been forced into. I knew I couldn't just abandon her, she'd only go and try to starve herself to death again. I had to make her understand there was no going back, the past was the past, it couldn't be changed so why waste your time pining over it. I sighed rising up to go after her.

I found her much closer than I thought she'd be. She had run less than a mile to the other side of the large sand hill. I came up behind her slowly trying not to alarm her. "I know more about what you are going through than you think."

"Oh really?" She asked looking over her shoulder, but she didn't turn to face me. "You murder your family? See the look in their eyes when they saw that you were nothing but a monster?"

"No…and yes."

Interested, she turned around looking angry still, but confused by what I said. "How is it both? It is either no or yes, which is it?"

"I didn't kill anyone in my human family."

"Then who did you kill?"

I hesitated for a moment. If the wrong person knew about what I did I could be in serious trouble with other vampires. What I did was forbidden. "My maker."

She was surprised, I could tell by the way her eyes lit up by the moonlight. "Why?" She asked curiously.

"It's a long story."

"Godric, anyone who hears that you killed your maker would be inclined not to trust you, so tell me what happened and give me a reason to think that you will not kill me too."

"I saved your life – "

"No." She said catching me off guard. "You fed me. That is something I could have done on my own, I just did not want to."

"I saved you." I said again correcting her statement. "I would not do such a thing if my sole intention was to kill you in the long run." I stated then turned to walk away.

"What if death is my choosing?" She asked me getting my attention again. I didn't turn to face her, not wanting to see her sad and angry bloodstained face. "What if I cannot accept this life?"

"You must." I said simply in a soft manner and kept walking.

She must have gotten lonely, because a few minutes later she rejoined me at the camp and curled up beside the fire on her blanket to go to sleep. "I wonder what my brother is doing." I heard her mutter softly.

"You must forget about them, Samira." I reminded her, yet again. "Leave the past behind you and move forward."

"Easier said than done…If I cannot be with them, I wish to die."

I knew she was subtly asking if I would kill her myself since I obviously wasn't going to allow her to kill herself. "I will not kill you."

She finally gave up and soon fell asleep. It was still night out so I stayed awake until nearly dawn and then made myself comfortable in the small hut we made beneath the trees of the oasis.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Love is Freedom**

**30 BC – When Egypt became part of the Roman Empire. **

It took years before Samira truly accepted her life. I think it was more she gave up on the fairytale idea that she would one day be reunited with her family. Or perhaps it was due to the fact that we had to leave Egypt for it was no longer a safe haven for me to escape the grasps of the Romans. Emperor Octavius had come along as the new Roman emperor and expanded his empire by killing Mark Antony and Cleopatra. The day before he arrived in Egypt we fled South to get out of Egypt then we would have to cross the sea to the Sinai Peninsula which was still free of Rome. The only question was how when it would take longer than a night.

For the first time since I'd met her, Samira used her 'charms' as she called them in order to get us a boat. She gracefully walked over to the Egyptian guards who were stationed on each side of the dock while servants loaded it. They obviously noticed her as both their heads turned to watch her come closer and closer until she was standing directly in front of one of them.

She began speaking in Egyptian, a language I hadn't heard her speak in years – she had tried teaching it to me, but I had no mind for it. "What does a lady have to do to get on this ship?" She asked the large guard who held a spear in his hands with the blunt end resting on the ground, and he also had a sword hooked to his side.

He looked her up and down, studied her – her clothes, her face, the way she stood there – and slowly inhaled before answering. "You are a gypsy. You are not welcome here."

"The Romans are coming." She told him. "It is no longer safe here, we must cross the sea."

"Then swim." He suggested unwilling to help.

Suddenly I heard a small voice like nothing I'd ever heard before. By the time I realized it was coming from her she had already begun her son and had the guard enchanted as she began dancing in front of him. I found myself as captivated by her as the others. I couldn't help but watch her hips sway from side to side as she moved in circles waving her arms in the air. I wished I knew what she was singing. Then the next thing I knew they were letting her pass and she was waving for me to follow. I quickly came back to myself and rushed past the guards to her side on the dock.

"What was that?" I asked her curiously as we entered the ship.

"Woman's persuasion." Well, that was a new one, but I had to give it to her, women could be very persuasive when they wanted to be. We quickly snuck our way onto the ship and past those on board. We made it down to the cargo hold and locked ourselves in a box.

"This was not what I had in mind." I told her somewhat agitated with how it had turned out. I hated hiding, I'd been doing it for the last decade or so.

"This is our only way to get there safely. Unless you prefer to swim?" She looked to me with an eyebrow cocked.

I sighed and settled in ready to take a nap if I had to to make the trip go faster. She seemed content to giggle to herself when she heard someone coming. I quickly rolled to my side to cover her mouth with my hand, while holding a finger to my lips to settle the confused look on her face. She seemed more surprised, really. We heard them digging around through the other boxes and junk then their footsteps on the stairs as they went back up to the deck. I released her and rested again.

"You did not have to do that." She said softly.

"Your laughing would have gotten us caught." I explained trying to sound scolding like a mentor should, but it didn't quite come out that way. "Why were you laughing?"

"I was laughing at you." She answered catching my surprise. What had I done? "I find it amusing that a man is nervous about hiding on board a ship."

"I am not." I argued. Then we heard more footsteps and I placed my hand over her mouth again. She fought me this time trying to pry it off, but frankly I was stronger than she was…until she bit me. I quickly pulled my hand back. "What was that for?" I asked quietly. She didn't answer, she merely gave me an angry glare then let her head fall back onto the hard wood below us. "Besides, why would I be nervous?" I said getting back to why she was laughing at me. Perhaps, it was merely pride talking, but I had to dispute what she had said. "I could kill them all if I wanted."

"You will not." She said abruptly, louder than she intended and she quickly stopped waiting to hear someone else come down the stairs. When it was safe she continued whispering. "I understand our lifestyle, but that does not mean you have to kill them for no reason. They are not livestock." She exclaimed. "We are better than that, we do not have to be animals."

"Humanity is for the living." I stated giving up the argument. I simply rested onto my back again.

She must have gave up too, I heard her sigh relaxing. Of course, though, she couldn't stay quiet for long. I felt her finger running along the tattoo on my arm. It didn't bother me, I let her study it all she wanted. It would never make sense to her, though. "What does this mean?" She asked curiously.

"I am a Gaul." I stated

"So you told me." She said impatiently, that wasn't the answer to her question. "Just because I am not does not mean I would not understand, Godric." She rarely used my name unless she was making a point, so hearing it caught my attention. She raised her eyebrows waiting for a reply.

I sighed giving in. "Gaul tradition." I said. "We worship the elements: earth, wind, fire, water. This means water."

"I see." Was all she had to say about it. Then to my curiosity she started carving something in the wood above us. When it was done she pointed to it saying, "Water." She had drawn the Egyptian symbol, which was quite similar to ours – three jagged lines stacked on top of each other.

"What is the word?" I asked curiously.

"Moo." (Just an estimate pronounced Mo, not moo like a cow).

Speaking of tattoos, I really noticed for the first time the ones she had on her body – the parts of it I could see anyway. She had one that reminded me of the runes on my own arm. "What about yours?" I asked her pointing to her arm next to mine.

"Oh, think of it as a family history." She explained. "It kind of tells an ancient story about an ancestor which led to our family's shame and our being gypsies."

I was curious, but it wasn't any of my business so I didn't pry any further. I noticed she had one on the top of her hand as well, it was a pattern of dots and diamonds and swirled lines. It kind of looked like a flower. I hadn't the faintest idea what it meant either.

When the trip was over we had to sneak off the ship, the only way out without getting caught was to climb out one of the holes for the oars…and jump into the water. It wasn't one of her brightest ideas, but it worked. We swam down the shore to get away from the crowd. However, when I found a good spot she didn't want to get out of the water.

"What are you doing?" I asked her impatiently.

"One, I need a bath after being cooped up in that box. Two, I like to swim."

I rolled my eyes and sat there in the sand to wait for her. She was lucky that it wasn't daylight yet. I was surprised further when a pile of wet clothes landed in front of me. She didn't! I looked up to her and saw her smiling from ear to ear. She had stripped in the water.

"Oh…" She moaned happily. "I missed the sea." She said laying her head back to look up at the stars. "You know – " She added making me realize she was actually talking to me and not to the air or her gods in the sky. "My parents used to bring my brother and I to the sea shore to swim at least once a week."

Hearing her memories about the sea made me remember home, my real home, where I was born in Northern Gaul. Our tribe was placed right by the ocean. The truth was I missed it dearly. I couldn't even remember what it felt like to swim in the crisp water. While she wasn't looking, I couldn't resist sliding back into the water. She was having fun, so I figured why not? I took my pants off from under the water and threw them onto the sand next to her clothes. I turned around expecting to see her staring at me happily, but she wasn't there. Seconds later, after seeing a ripple in the water, I realized she was swimming just under the surface and coming towards me. I used my eyes and ears to grab her and pull her up before she bumped into me. Had I had my clothes on, it would be one thing, but I didn't. She must have been startled as she quickly stood back up again.

"Oh…Godric, you startled me." She said, to which I smirked as I had already figured that out for myself. "I thought you were going to keep watch." She teased.

"I can do so just fine from here."

She grinned and quickly turned around to dive under again and swim away. It seemed to me she wanted to be chased. Perhaps it was due to her remembering being a child again playing with her little brother. I gave in and quickly swam out to where I knew she was hiding behind a boulder which stuck out above the surface. I came to the side and quickly jumped over it to land just behind her on the other side. I heard her scream from under the water and when I came back up she was backed against it laughing at herself. I couldn't remember the last time I actually had fun. Roman slaves weren't allowed to have fun, we existed to be abused and do what we were told.

I realized my feet were still moving and then I was standing mere inches away from her.

"Godric." She began. "Why did you save me?" She asked yet again for the thousandth time – I had never answered her.

"Why did you let me save you?" I asked in return. She took a deep breath clearly afraid to answer honestly. She shrugged her shoulders, pretending it was nothing. My hand went to her face pulling her chin up so she was forced to look me in the eye again. "Why are you still here?" I repeated.

"Because of the way you are looking at me."

"Exactly." I said answering her question with the same answer with a small smirk plastered on my face. She couldn't help but smile back and close the gap between us. Her face kept coming closer and closer until her lips were less than an inch from mine. She waited patiently for me to come the rest of the way and kiss her…to my surprise, I did. I heard her quickly inhale as my lips met hers and I could feel her melt against me. I had never kissed a woman before, I had wanted to, but I never met a woman who made me feel anything. Some slaves were lucky enough to have masters who let them marry a fellow slave if they wanted to, my Maker wasn't one of those. He was a selfish bastard, and he had wanted me to himself. As those memories rose in mind, the sexual ones specifically it killed the mood and I backed away quickly. Then I turned around and rushed back to shore.

"Godric?" She said uncertain of what she had done wrong. She followed me, chasing me down and grabbed my arm to stop me before I got out of the water. "Godric, please." I turned around, but I kept my eyes down unable to look at her feeling guilty. "What did I do?"

To think I made her feel guilty only made my own guilt worse and I looked her in the eye again. "Nothing." I said honestly keeping my eyes soft so she would know I meant it.

"Then what is the matter?" She asked curiously.

I shook my head refusing to answer her and turned again to climb out of the water. I quickly grabbed my pants and slipped them back on. I heard her come out behind me and then she was in front of me holding her dress in front of her like a towel to hide her body. "Godric." She said my name so softly and endearingly that it sent shivers down my spine. "Please? Let me help you." She pleaded knowing I was struggling with something.

"You cannot." I stated simply crossing my arms over my chest. Of course, she saw right through it, it was an act to try and shield myself from her prying eyes. She nodded understanding and turned away to slip her dress back on. Then she left me standing there feeling like an ass while she gathered firewood and got the camp set up. Not telling her made me feel even more guilty by the second. Once she had the fire going she looked to me again still waiting, but she quickly looked back to the fire as she poked it with a stick. I sighed thinking to myself, 'oh hell!' in surrender. "My Maker – " I began catching her attention. I came over to sit beside her. "It's a long story." I exasperated wiping my face.

"Are you going anywhere?" She asked rhetorically.

I looked at her with one eye through the gap between my fingers to see her serious face. Her ears were wide open. "He was…" I had to stop to think of a gentle way to say it. I couldn't even look her in the eye which made me feel weak, a feeling I hated. "Abusive." I finished staring into the bright fire thinking of the way my former master's estate had burned like that. Then I felt her hand on mine in my lap. I looked down at it surprised then looked back up at her.

"He's gone, or did you lie about killing him?"

"No." I stated. "No, he's dead."

"Then you are safe." She said in a comforting tone squeezing my hand harder. "I know what it is like to be afraid of someone. The last thing I remember before waking up in the ground was a man attacking me…raping me." She added trying to hold her voice so it didn't crack and she didn't break down. "I still have nightmares about it."

"I have noticed." I admitted. It seemed like it was rare when she actually had a decent sleep without having one.

"But I do not let it bother me." That was the end of her pep talk and she turned back to the fire. I soon realized she was right and I had to swallow my fear, especially if I wanted her the way I thought I did. So with that strength I had I quickly grabbed her shoulders turning her towards me so I could kiss her again. I wasn't as gentle about it as the first time, it was a little more forced than I had intended, but I think she got the message. Besides, once I realized how hard I had done it I corrected myself and pulled back a little to soften the kiss. She didn't seem to mind either way, in fact she seemed pretty pleased as she laid back and pulled me over her. I appreciated the gesture, but I had my doubts about whether or not this was alright. I knew my own, but I was unaware of her sexual history, so I didn't want to go beyond what she was comfortable with. As soon as I felt her grabbing at my clothes I pulled away and rolled onto my back breathing heavily trying desperately to come back down to earth. She sat up and looked down at me curiously. "What is it now?"

I looked at her and I found it amusing that she was sexually frustrated. "Sorry." I said softly, though I doubted she believed me.

"For what?" She asked, then elaborated. "For getting it started or stopping it?"

"Both." I answered honestly.

"Godric – " She sighed. Then came another surprising 'charm' she had failed to mention in the year we had known each other. "Yes I am new to this, but that does not mean I do not know what I am doing."

My gaze quickly averted to her understanding what she had said. She had read my mind, I swore it. "Did you just – ?"

"Read your mind?" She finished nodding her head. "I have been since you met me. I merely kept it to myself and paid no mind." That meant she knew all along what was wrong with me. She could have said as much. "I did not want to pry." She added reading my thoughts again. "I wanted you to tell me because you trusted me."

"Samira, I – "

"I know how you think of me." She said with a small flattered smile. "How I captivate and intrigue you." She swung her leg over my waist so she was straddling me, which shocked me to the core. I didn't know what to do. Then she leaned down getting closer to my face. "I just want you to know…" She came closer until her mouth was right beside my ear. "The feeling is mutual." She whispered seductively.

I closed my eyes trying to fight the urge I suppressed earlier. Unfortunately, she was there begging for it with her eyes and her lips and I couldn't fight it anymore. I let her close the gap between our mouths to kiss again. It didn't last long and then her lips moved down my neck and chest. My blood was boiling under my skin, it was worse than standing directly in the sunlight. When she lifted her head again to look at me she smiled happily and I smiled in return letting her know it was alright. Then she was stripping again, first her top, then she stood to take off her skirt. While she was standing I took the time to take my pants off again. I could tell it was the first time she'd seen a man naked before by the way her eyes widened as she stared at what was now revealed. I couldn't help but laugh to myself as I grabbed her hand and pulled her back down beside me. I laid her down and climbed over her ready for what was coming. I only hoped she was as ready as she claimed to be. The last thing I wanted was to hurt her. I knew all too well that fruit must be plucked when it was ripe or else it leaves it forever damaged.

As I made love to her I realized she had been right – she knew what she was doing, and I had nothing to worry about.

It was the best night of my life thus far.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Family Curse**

**21 BC**

After nearly a decade of bliss, I found myself letting my guard down. I knew it was wrong, but I couldn't help but feel safe again like I had when I was a boy back home. Having Samira by my side – another person to trust – she let me take some of the weight off my shoulders to carry for herself. I would rather carry it all to spare her the burden, but I could never win an argument with her. All she had to do was kiss me and I melted like ice in the sun. She was the sun in my mind. Her kiss melted me and her touch burned my skin as if I were standing in its light. Yet I couldn't run away from it. I wanted to burn. I would gladly burn for eternity.

The only thing that worried me was that I had told her everything about my past, yet she had nothing to tell me. She told me what she knew, of course, but that wasn't much compared to my own story. Her maker had abandoned her, she woke up alone. Either he did so on purpose, not wanting anything to do with her, or he didn't know he had turned her and thought instead that she was truly dead. Either way I had that thought stuck in the back of my mind – what will happen if and when he finds out?

Apparently, I wasn't the only one worried either. After a few years her nightmares slowly drifted away until they were nearly gone, and then all of a sudden came flooding back. The past week or so she was having them every day while we slept. We had moved into an abandoned home by the sea shore. It was for fisherman, she told me. They would stay there during the season and then move back home afterwards for farming season.

Today, like any other she was having a nightmare violent enough to wake me. I heard her scream and I jolted up from my slumber beside her.

"Nai!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. That was one of the few Egyptian words I knew, it meant no. It was a word she used a lot. I quickly grabbed her arms to hold her down and straddled her to keep her from flailing like a fish out of water.

"Samira." I said. I knew she would wake it was only a matter of time. I just had to wait it out. It hurt though, to see her like that knowing there was nothing I could do.

"Nai!...Nai…Rwi! (Arwee, Go away)." How I hate to see her cry. Tears of blood started flowing down her face. "S-htp (Sehtep, Please)." Then she screamed some more until she finally jolted and awakened. However, she didn't realize she was awake and only knew someone was on top of her. She quickly became angry and struggled to get me off and then flipped us over so she was over me with her dagger to my throat.

"Samira." I said softly looking into her eyes. "It is me."

Her eyes moved from side to side as she studied my face. Slowly I saw the anger fade and her eyes softened with regret and love. She dropped the dagger and cried falling to my chest. "I am sorry."

I hugged her tightly wrapping my arms around her and kissed her hair lovingly. "It is alright. You are safe."

I let her cry for a while, she cried herself back to sleep. I wished I could sleep, but the longer I thought about it the more worrisome I became. I didn't even care when the bleeds started. I just wanted to be able to protect her.

I was awake all day and when night came she woke up again. She had more bad dreams, but they were not as bad as the one before. She woke up and I was not beside her, which worried her I was sure. I was standing by the window looking out at the moon. During the day we boarded up all the windows to keep out the sun, but during the night I opened them.

"Godric." She said looking to me. I looked over my shoulder seeing her and went to her taking her hand helping her down from the bed. She quickly hugged me knowing I needed it for comfort. She could see the blood on my face. "I am so sorry." She whispered in my ear.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of. I just could not sleep."

"They are only dreams, Godric – "

"But what if not?"

"Since when did you believe such things?"

"Since I have come to know you." I answered. My culture did not place faith in anything mystical or unknown. We placed it in what we knew, which was nature. Nature was absolute. Gods and dreams and magic were not. Yet, her family believed in them very strongly. Her father was a priest from a very long line of priests. They worshipped the gods forever. One of her own tattoos was a triangle with three different symbols representing three different gods in which her family honored, and even claimed to be descended from. It was on her wrist with the top pointing up towards her elbow. At the top was the symbol of Ra, the king of the gods. That was who her father worshipped, and majority of those in her bloodline. The bottom right was one of his consorts, Hathor who Samira's mother worshipped. Then to the left was Hathor's consort, Horus. When I asked her what the connection between Horus and Ra was, she told me there was none. They were neither siblings, nor father and son. Their connection was the falcon. Ra and Horus were both represented by the falcon and were both gods of the sky and very old and very powerful.

"They are only dreams." She said again. She was probably saying it more for herself than for me. I could see it in her eyes, she knew something was wrong, but she wanted to believe otherwise.

"At least tell me what they are about?" I asked curiously. There were a million different possibilities in my head. They were going to eat away at my sanity. She shook her head refusing to do it, so I only pushed harder. "Please. The curiosity is going to drive me to insanity."

She sighed not wanting to give in, but she knew I wouldn't let it go. "The night I was turned." She answered. "Every night I have to relive the worse night of my life." She said softly as she began to break. "Being raped once was bad enough."

Unfortunately, I could sympathize. I stopped her before she went any further and upset herself even more by pulling her close. She buried her face into my chest crying as I held her. "He cannot hurt you again…No one will ever hurt you again." I promised her.

After a while, she got better and we left to go hunting. We lived a ways from civilization, so it took us a while to get there. And Samira wouldn't feed from the living so we had to find someone who was either dying or already dead. Preferably already dead. Luckily, it was a time of war so there were always a lot of dead people to be found. And on top of that Egyptians, I found, were very diligent in preserving the dead. However, we had to get to the bodies before they were embalmed or else there would be no blood to drink, instead it'd be a different kind of liquid. Every night we would sneak into the cemetery where they kept the dead and take help out the embalmers by draining the bodies for them.

Except tonight when we walked in we got a surprise. The second I walked into the building I could smell it in the air. "Someone has been in here." I told her as I put out my arm to keep her from going any further.

"Godric, I am in no mood for riddles." She said impatiently listening to her stomach growl as she tried to push past me.

I quickly grabbed her again. "No." I said softly. "Wait."

"What?"

"Can you not smell that?" I asked her surprised that she hadn't noticed. How could she not? Granted, the smell of death was already thick, but vampires smelled somewhat different and it was quite easy to pick up. She slowly inhaled once and then I saw it in her eyes as they widened. She could smell them. Apparently, someone else had gotten hungry too and beat us to the feast.

"We should go." She whispered grabbing my arm to try and lead me back out the way we came in. Yet I couldn't bring my feet to move. I had an odd instinct that the vampires inside with us didn't belong there, and I wasn't about to let them roam freely in our territory. I put my finger to my lips telling her to be quiet and removed her grip from my arm. Slowly I crept forward towards the dark corridor in front of us, then quickly rushed inside as quickly as I could grabbing the first thing I found. "Godric!" She cried hearing a few loud thuds. Whoever I had a hold of hit the wall then I hit the floor and something breakable, probably a vase, did as well and shattered. She came in and was quickly grabbed by the other vampire in the room.

My protective instincts kicked in and no longer caring about the vampire on top of me I looked to him. "Get your hands off her!" I ordered, though I doubted they were Gauls and knew what I was saying. The one above me punched me again to quiet me down.

"Who are you?" He asked me. If I had a heartbeat it would have stopped hearing words I knew, but didn't want to hear. He was a Roman. I swallowed hard looking up into his cold eyes praying to any god that was willing to listen to not let these men be friends of Appius on the hunt for me.

Before I could answer, thankfully, Samira cut in. Something she could always be counted upon to do. She could never stay quiet for long. "Why are you in here?" She asked them in Egyptian. "You have no right. This is our territory."

"Samira, they cannot understand you." I told her, and neither could I. I looked back up to my opponent. "Release her." I ordered again, only this time I said in Latin so I knew he would understand me. He cocked his head seeming surprised and stood up releasing me. I got back to my feet and held out my hand for her and she took it. "Now." I added angrily. "Who are you and why are you in our territory?"

"Your territory?" He asked me curiously. For the first time I actually got a good look at him, even though it was still pitch dark. That was one of the few upsides to being a vampire in my opinion. It made it hard for your enemies to sneak up on you. He had long, curly, dark hair draped over one eye down to his shoulders. He wore only a pair of pants. The other man wore the same. He had dark blond hair and blue eyes, and leaner and taller than the man in front of me. "This territory, like any territory, belongs to our master."

"I do not think so." Samira said.

"We do not care what a woman thinks." He said rasping through his teeth trying to frighten her. Of course, it didn't work. And she spit in his face to prove it. Quickly his hand went up in the air and it came down hard smacking her across the face. Angrily I jumped on him…again. On the ground I began punching him over and over in the side of the face until his companion tried to pull me off. Considering they had just fed they were stronger than I was, and he dragged me to the ground.

"Enough." I heard her rasp angrily. "Godric." She added getting my attention. "I said enough."

The man had me by the throat and lifted me up in the air. This was one of the times I wished I was taller. Perhaps, had that bastard let me age more than sixteen years I would be. "Now, you little bitch, you get to watch your man lose his head." He told her, which only angered her more. When she turned her head to face us, I noticed the color in her eyes had changed. It was something I had never seen before, not in a human at least. The yellows were like a light in the darkness. It reminded me of the wild cats back home who hid in the forest. I used to see eyes like that in the dark of night through the woods.

"Samira?" I said uncertain of what was happening, or even if she was alright.

I heard a feral growl escape her throat and then she attacked my captor knocking him to the ground. I fell landing on one knee holding my throat. When I looked up I no longer saw Samira over him. I saw a wild cat – a lioness to be specific. She had her teeth embedded into his throat killing him. The other man – the blond – ran away out of fear. I would have followed, but I was too shocked to move.

After his blood was all spent she looked to me and saw the shocked look on my face. I could see her eyes soften from a fierce predator's to Samira's. They turned back into the browns I knew then she turned and ran from me.

"Samira!" I called chasing after her. When I got outside she was nowhere to be found. I couldn't see her, but I could smell her. Then I heard sobs and sniffles. I followed my senses and found her in a nearby tree. "What are you doing up there?" I asked.

"I thought I had grown out of it." She said. "I thought I had control."

"You mean what you just did. You knew you could do that?"

Her head nodded quickly a few times. "It runs in the family." She explained. "I first shifted when I was only ten years old. But my mother did not want that for me. That was for the men in the family, they were the priests, and the magicians. The last time I shifted was when I was fourteen. All this time I thought I had gotten rid of this curse flowing through my veins... I do not want to be a freak!"

"Samira, you are a vampire." I reminded her. How much more of a freak could she get?

She jumped down from the tree, and I realized she was naked. Her clothes had slipped off her body during the transformation. "You do not understand." She said lowly as she made her way past me back towards the building to get her clothes. I followed her inside, and watched her put her dress back on. I knew she needed time to wrap her head around everything so I left her alone and followed her further into the building to find food. I was worried that man who escaped was going to return and he wouldn't be alone, so we desperately needed to feed and regain our strength. And she needed to stop being so bloody emotional.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: The Hunter and the Hunted**

**I'm glad to see I'm recruiting some fans for this story. Be sure to let me know what you think guys, reviews are my fuel. **

When the next night came I took it upon myself to be on my best guard because something told me they weren't gone. And not only that, but they weren't alone, which they made clear by telling us about their master. Samira was inside the house while I sat just outside the door listening and watching. After a while she came up behind me leaning against the doorway.

"Do you really intend to sit here all night?"

"If I must." I answered honestly. Her safety was my number one priority. They knew now that she was different. That put her at risk. That was another reason I had wanted to stay as far away from civilization as possible. Who knew what other vampires would do if they got ahold of her? Probably turn her into a study to try and figure out why she was different, specifically why she could go out in the sun.

"Studying me would not tell them anything." She told me. She had read my mind again. Usually I didn't mind, but sometimes it could get annoying.

"How do you figure?"

"You think they would?" She asked curiously sliding down the wall to sit behind me. "You think my blood is different than yours?"

I sighed scratching my head thinking about it. The truth was, though – "I do not know what to think, Samira."

"I am no freak, Godric." She said getting angry. I knew how much she wanted to fit in. I figured it was due to the way she lived as a human, being outcast from society. She hadn't fit in as a fellow human, so she desperately wanted to fit in with the vampires, however it didn't seem to be working.

I turned to face her placing a comforting hand on her knee. "I know." I didn't have to say it, but I wanted to reassure her. She smirked accepting it. Out of curiosity though I couldn't resist asking, "Is there anything else I should know about you?"

"Godric – "

"Samira, the more I know about you the better I can protect you."

"No." She answered forcefully. She pushed my hand away angrily and got up to leave.

I quickly stood and ran in front of her to stop her before she got away from me. "Samira…" I groaned in frustration as she tried to get away from me and refusing to let me touch her. "Love, I am sorry. Alright?"

"I do not know if there is anything else about me that is different. Frankly, I do not _want_ to."

"Love, being different is not bad. Would I love you if it were? Would I have ever followed you those days? We would not be here if you were like everyone else."

"Are you saying you would not love me if I were like everyone else?"

"Now you know that is not true." I said offended at the idea that she would even question my feelings for her. I had bent over backwards to prove to her how I felt from the first night I let her into my heart and made love to her. I took her hands and brought both of them to my lips. "I would love you no matter what, and I _will_ love you no matter what." She smiled happily and hugged me kissing my cheek. I had never known love before, other than the love within family, but that was lost long ago. Yet I knew this was it. I never tired of hearing her voice, or feeling her skin against mine, in fact I was addicted to it. I couldn't live without her.

"I love you, Godric." She whispered.

"Aw, how sweet." We heard suddenly. I quickly spun around keeping her behind me to face a man I had never seen before. Behind him were two men, the one that escaped and another one. That meant this must be their so-called master. I wondered if master implied Maker. "I despise sweet." He added through his teeth.

"You must be their master they warned us about." I said. I was unimpressed to say the least. He didn't look that tough. He wore a tunic accustomed to Romans. I growled at the thought of him being a Roman. And since they were Roman, Samira knew nothing they were saying. I had been tutoring her in Latin after she understood Gaul, but she was still uncertain.

"I am Hagan." He introduced himself bowing ever so slightly, but not enough to give me the impression I was better than he was. He was merely being polite. "My slaves Boden (the blond one that escaped) and Willem." Willem was built like Boden: lean. So he didn't intimidate me. "You killed my other slave, Turio. He was my favorite."

"He attacked us." I told him in defensively, which was the truth. Well, actually I ran at him first, but he hurt Samira and she killed him for it, so it was still his own fault.

"I hear differently." He said.

"You heard wrong then."

"She is the one, master. I swear to you." Boden said from behind Hagan. "She shifted into a monster and tore him apart."

"That is a lie!" She burst springing out from behind me. I quickly grabbed at her before she did something stupid.

"Ooh, she is feisty this one." He said. That was the last thing we needed, was for the enemy to be intrigued. You are supposed to intimidate the enemy and make them leave, not make them want to stay. He stepped closer to us and I quickly backed away.

"Stay away." I warned.

"You think I fear you, boy?"

"I am not a child."

"No?" He asked unconvinced. "How old were you when you were turned pray tell?" I didn't answer. I didn't need to. Besides, telling him I was only sixteen would only make him more eager to put me down. "That is what I thought." He added knowing why I refused to answer. "You may be a man in your eyes but I am over five hundred years old." I prayed he wasn't one of the ancients who would kill me if he knew me. I knew their laws, and killing another vampire was strictly prohibited. Except, I didn't know who the authority figures were. Appius never told me. He told me only that it depended on which region of the world you lived in and in theirs there was no set authority anymore. The old authority had been decimated by a large war and ever since those who survived scattered and became lords over different areas of the continent. "You don't seem frightened." He stated noticing my lack of expression.

"My maker was nearly as old as you." I stated bravely, hoping he didn't know Appius. "Yet he is dead."

Hagan nodded understanding my meaning. "It is true no matter how old we get we are never truly immortal. We can be killed, though it takes someone who holds a significant amount of power."

"Or someone who can outsmart you." I added. I had nowhere near Appius in age and strength, yet I killed him. I had years to think of how I was going to do it, of course, but I did it.

"You seem to have experience." He stated. I became worried. "Ah, you do." he noticed. Samira held tighter fearing for me as well. "Do not fear boy, I care nothing for the death of people I do not know. It is my dead slave that I care about." He said and then looked behind him to his other two slaves. He nodded and I realized we were about to be killed. I shoved her in one direction and we ran as fast as we could. I made sure she stayed in front of me since they were behind us, they would have to get through me first before getting to her.

We didn't stop until we made it into a village. I had to think quickly of where we were going to hide.

"We have to split up." She said quickly.

"What? No!"

"Godric, we can separate them." She said. "I can hide while you kill them."

I had to admit it was a good plan, but that didn't mean I had to like it. Hearing them closing in on us I quickly agreed to it though I didn't want to. I made sure to kiss her before she ran off. "Be careful." I whispered against her lips. She kissed me in return then ran into the darkness between the houses. I waited until I couldn't see her anymore then ran the other way.

I ran to the cemetery not being able to think of anywhere else to go. The advantage was that it already smelled like death so my scent would be harder to notice. I hid behind the trees quickly breaking one branch and stripping it to create a stake. When he came along I crouched down ready to spring out at any moment. I felt like I was back under my bed again that day when the Romans came to our house. He slowly walked across the graves smelling the air trying to find me, and I only crouched lower until I was on my stomach and crawling like a lizard across the cold wet ground. I knew I couldn't come at him face on so I had to get behind him. Once I was in a position I was comfortable with I quickly worked my way across the graveyard to get closer to him by rushing from stone to stone. One advantage of being small. He never even noticed me until it was too late. I tackled him to the ground and drove the stake through his heart. His body exploded as they always do into blood and guts. Now I had to find Samira and the other one, the blond who had escaped her grasp last night.

It took longer than I would have liked to find her. She ran back into the woods rather than staying inside the village. Although, understood why. She was trying to spare innocent bystanders. I followed her scent as best I could through the woods, but she zigzagged so much it was difficult to keep up with. And at times I could tell she would go into the trees and leap from tree to tree for a ways before coming back down to the ground. Smart, I thought. That would definitely make it harder to track, and it did.

I was surprised further when I came upon the vampire I was chasing. He was already dead. His throat was ripped out. That's how she maneuvered in the trees so well, she had shifted again. The woman kept on impressing me. But, then I heard her scream. I quickly jumped to my feet forgetting the dead vampire and ran in that direction as fast as my feet would carry me.

"Godric!" She cried. I pushed harder trying to find her. I knew Hagan had her, and she was far too young to be a match for him even if she was special. I would be no match for him, unless I could outsmart him. I doubted I could though, in such limited time. I was a planner, I thought well through time; on the spot was a different matter entirely.

Finally, I found her and came to halting stop as I stared at the sight before me. Hagan held her up by one hand on her throat from up on a branch and below them was an inferno.

"Ah, the beloved savior." Said Hagan noticing my entrance.

"Godric." She said again pleading for me to save her.

"Let her go." I ordered, though it sounded more like begging. I was begging, honestly. "I killed your slaves." I lied. "Your fight is with me."

"Noble." He admitted. "But untrue." Even though, a vampire could have easily tore that man's throat out like that, he believed his slave's story that she had shifted into something else when she did it. I watched in horror as the woman I loved strangled, her feet kicking in the air as if trying to find something to step on, and her hands clawing at his own trying to loosen its grip. Then he finally lowered her to the branch again letting her breathe, but he kept her close and held a stake in his hand just in case she tried to fight. "What a shame it would be to destroy something so beautiful." He said brushing the tip of the stake across her lips. She was too busy gasping for air to react.

"Please." I begged. I wasn't accustomed to begging, not since I was young. I used to beg Appius to take pity on me but after a couple years I gave up. Next thing I knew I was on my knees with tears of blood flowing down my face begging for her life.

"Love." He rasped in disgust. "Do you love him?" He asked her to our surprise. Why did he care? He was going to kill her anyway. And slowly the fire was raising higher climbing up the tree trunk towards them. She nodded squeezing her eyes shut as she began to sob.

As I stared into the fire I noticed something strange. I thought perhaps it was my imagination, but it caught my attention nonetheless. As her tears fell from her face into the flames I swore the fire was raging even harder. It quickly jumped higher up the tree catching his tunic on fire. Surprised he quickly let go of her to put out the flame. I saw that as my opportunity and ran to the tree jumping up onto the branch beside them. I went to knock him off but he caught my arm and overpowered me. I held onto the tree as best I could with my free hand to keep from falling into the inferno below, but he pushed me lower and lower. He had one hand on my throat and the other still on my arm.

"No!" Samira cried just before I lost my grip and the flames jumped up yet again engulfing Hagan from between us as if grabbing him and pulled him down from the tree into their grasp. He screamed as he fell and kept screaming in pain as they ate at him, but he couldn't escape. Samira quickly jumped into my arms burying her face in my chest not wanting to see such a thing. "Godric."

"It is alright." I soothed kissing her hair and holding her tightly. I breathed her in thankful that she was a unharmed. I had thought I was going to lose her. By some miracle he hesitated. That was really the first time I started to truly believe in a higher power other than just fate. Something had saved her. Something caused those flames to jump, I just couldn't figure out what it was, but I saw it. I know I did.

Afterwards, we went home to the shore. I had to get the blood off. The memory of Appius' death was flashing in my mind, and I couldn't make it stop. I had to get the blood off. So I quickly stripped of my clothes and jumped into the water. She seemed to notice my erratic behavior as I scrubbed at my skin with my hands trying to get clean, but yet whenever I looked I still saw red. She came up beside me then, as naked as I was. She took my arms holding them so I couldn't scrub at them anymore.

"Godric, look at me." She said softly and I obliged lifting my eyes slowly. I was ashamed and I knew she could tell. She didn't need to be a mind reader either. "If anyone should be erratic right not it is me." She said.

"Make it stop." I whispered closing my eyes again only to see my nightmare.

She wrapped her arms around me. "Sh…" She soothed kissing my temple. I couldn't even pay attention enough to hold her in return. My arms just laid flat on the water as I buried my face in her neck trying to hide from it all. "Remember what you said to me?" She asked. "He cannot harm you anymore. You won, Godric, he is gone. Forever."

The truth was I hated killing. I had ever since I took life for the first time when the Romans came after us. I had killed animals, hundreds, all my life, but it just wasn't the same. Nothing could have ever prepared me for what it felt like to kill a man. I thought I wouldn't feel anything from killing monsters like Appius or that vampire at the cemetery, but I was wrong. I could feel it take its toll on my soul, eating away at me. NO matter how tried to convince myself it was alright because I did it out of self defense, I did it to save Samira, it still haunted me. And on top of that I would never be rid of Appius so long as I was a fugitive, having to remember every day why I was on the run. I was paranoid and afraid, and now Samira was caught in the middle of it. What if the next adversary was Calix out for revenge or another of Appius' companions?

"Hri, pwi mrwt. (Haree, pawee maroot - Be content, my love)" She whispered in my ear. I didn't understand, yet her words were soothing. They were mystical in a way, like hearing a goddess whisper. She gripped the back of my head by my hair forcing my head to rise and then pressed her lips to mine drowning everything from my mind. "Pawee maroot." She said again in between kisses.

"What does that mean?" I asked curiously looking her in the eye. I loved the way they glistened in the moonlight.

"My love." She answered softly bringing a smile to my face. I kissed her again letting all my love for her consume me. She moaned against my lips only enticing me further. Then she led me to the shore and laid down in the sand. We hadn't even come in far enough to be free from the waves, they came in past her head, but only enough to wet her hair. We didn't need to fear drowning. So I gladly laid on top of her to love her the way she was begging me to.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Blood **

**Please Review**

Out of fear of Hagan, I decided it was time we left our home there in Sinai. It was too dangerous. We had no way of knowing for certain if he was dead. He was much older and stronger than I was, so I wasn't going to risk it. I wasn't sure where we would end up, I only knew we were going north. We packed up what we needed, which was very little and left everything else. Samira was used to moving around. She was from a family of gypsies who lived in a travelling caravan. She was even born in a wagon.

"How are we going to travel?" She asked throwing her bag over her shoulder.

"By foot. We cannot risk using anything that is too easy to track." I told her.

"That is what they would expect."

"Do you have a better plan?"

"As a matter of fact – " She said. "I do. In the village they keep camels for such things." I sighed, that was her brilliant plan? I'd rather walk than ride some smelly animal. Horses, maybe, but camels? "Godric, people use them everyday. Their scent and their tracks are everywhere, they would be impossible to follow. As long as we don't stop during the day, because that would be a bit obvious."

"Samira, in case you forgot, I am not like you. I cannot be in the sun."

"I have an idea for that too." She said coming closer to me. Naturally, I thought. She surprised me when she pulled her hair to one side exposing her neck.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Drink." She said.

"No." I said sternly. The last thing I was ever going to do was risk harming her by drinking her blood. I had an instinct it would be nothing like drinking a human, it would far worse. If I lost control…

"You will not." She stated reading my mind as usual.

"You do not know that. You are – if your blood is anything like the fey people I have heard of, I may."

"I will not let you, I promise."

"Samira, we do not even know if it will work. Just because you may be able to walk in the sun, does not mean I could just by drinking your blood."

"Never know unless you try."

"No."

"Why not?"

"I said no." I repeated firmly.

"You do not order me." She stated angry with my tone. "Remember that." She added then walked past me in the direction of the village.

I groaned angry with myself and frustrated with her, but I knew there was nothing I could do about it. It was wrong of me to snap at her like that, but she could be so irritating when she argued. She never stopped. I quickly caught up to her and got in front of her halting her. "I apologize." I told her softly holding my hand to my heart. "I am sorry."

"Please." She whispered. "Trust me."

"It is myself I do not trust, Samira, not you. If I hurt you I would never forgive myself."

"I am not a weak human, I can stop you if you cannot stop yourself…besides – " Besides, what?, I thought. I should've known there was another motive to this rather than merely allowing me to walk in the sun. "You told me that blood connects you – you feel what the other feels and can always find them."

"Is that the real reason you want this?" I asked curiously.

"I know how you feel, if you think I am uncertain of your love I promise that is not true. I just…" She paused for a moment thinking of the right thing to say. "Intrigued."

I wasn't going to lie, I had thought about it. I knew that vampires did it with their lovers for that very reason, that if the other was afraid and in trouble they could always be found and rescued. However, that was also the reason I had stayed away from it. There were some feelings I didn't want to feel.

"Forget it." She sighed and walked past me again, but I quickly grabbed her arm surprising her.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked. If she wasn't sure I wasn't going to do it. I just wanted her to understand what she was asking of me.

She put her hands on my face and kissed me softly. "I want to be connected to you in every way possible."

I couldn't argue with that, so I nodded agreeing with her. She moved her hair again granting me access to her neck. "Forgive me." I whispered in case I hurt her, which I prayed I didn't do. She nodded with a small smile reassuring her trust in me and I leaned forward smelling her soft skin. It was a scent I couldn't describe. I gently kissed her neck lovingly before I bit down. Once I tasted it something surged inside me. I held onto her tighter wrapping an arm around her waist and my other hand gripped the other side of her neck to hold her in place. As it entered my body I could feel the hunger inside, the raw instinct of a killer fight beg for more – for all of it. I bit harder causing more blood to rush from her wound and happily accepted every ounce of the intoxicating liquid. Yet I regretted it as soon as I did it. I knew this was going to be difficult. I clenched my eyes shut trying to concentrate and fight that instinct back down. I felt her fingers dig into my skin as she began to feel weak. And quickly I forced myself off of her pushing her away and I turned away from her to try and regain my composure.

She came forward and I felt her hand on my shoulder. Then she was in front of me. She could see I was struggling and I was angry with myself. I had gone too far, I lost control, even if it was for only a minute. Luckily, she had a cure for that, which was another addiction – the taste of her lips. She lifted my head up by my chin and quickly pressed her lips to mine. It was gentle at first, but I got lost in it willingly wanting to melt into her. I wrapped my arms around her holding her close. Once I felt myself again and didn't feel the urge to rip her apart out of hunger I pulled away.

"Better?" She asked. I nodded and inspected the wound I had caused. It had stopped bleeding, but the marks of my fangs were still there. "I am alright." She assured me. "I am not as fragile as you seem to think."

"Fragile enough." I said. She wasn't unbreakable, she could still die.

"In time it will get easier for you." She said hopeful. I hadn't realized she was planning to make this a regular ritual. She went on to explain. "Love, its effect on you, if it worked, will only be temporary."

"Do not ask me to endure that again."

"Godric, you know I am right. Just until we find a place to stay, and then I promise I will never ask you again."

"And what if I still cannot go in the sun?"

She smiled as if she knew something I didn't. Without answering my question she took my hand and I knew what she was going to do. It was her turn to bite me and be able to feel my emotions. As if reading my mind wasn't enough, but I indulged her. She kissed down the palm of my hand to my wrist and kissed it gently as I had her throat before gently biting down. She only bit deep enough to draw blood. I watched her neck as it healed before my eyes in relief. Once my wound healed she pulled away wiping her lips clean. I removed my hand from hers to grab my own bag and throw it over my shoulder.

"We should go." I said turning away from her to start walking towards the village. I knew she knew what was going on in my head, I was still sulking over what I had done, and she left me alone. I guess she figured it was something I had to cope with on my own. I also had a lot of questions, specifically would her blood work the way she hoped. She was no fairy, and they were the only ones known to give vampires that ability.

By the time we reached the village I could feel the effects of her blood flowing through me. I knew the signs as I had felt them before with Appius' blood. Yet it was slightly different. His blood made me feel strong and invincible, but hers made me feel even stronger and I felt like I was walking on clouds. My body felt light, I felt so much more attuned to what was going on around me. And of course I felt drawn to her, the constant image of her rested in my mind. The attraction was setting in. I was already attracted to her obviously and now it was being heightened to the tenth degree. And I could feel her watching me, and I knew she felt it too.

I turned to face her gaze curiously wondering what she was thinking. "Is it like this for everyone?" She asked. I wasn't sure which feeling she was referring to, but I imagined she meant the sexual attraction by the way her eyes were glazed over with lust as she stared at me.

"Yes." I answered. "Typically they use the blood on their human companions to draw them closer, it attracts them…sexually."

"Strange." She whispered as she came closer to me in a rush. She was standing as close as possible then with her hand on my face. "Just when I thought I could not love you more."

I found it amusing that she was so easily succumbed by it. Then again she had no experience, whereas I had had years of it. "It is not love, Samira, only lust." She then gave me an upset look as if I was questioning her feelings for me so I had to quickly reassure her knowing my blood could also make her overly emotional. I noticed that effect in Anwill. "I know you love me, I only mean that this heightened sense you feel to be close to me is lust caused by my blood."

She rose up onto her toes as if leaning in to kiss me and whispered, "But I always want to be close to you."

I quickly backed away avoiding her kiss and she stopped confused. "Samira, listen to me." I pleaded.

"You do not want me?" She asked seeming hurt by it.

I groaned. It was just the opposite. I felt it too, and by feeling what she felt it only doubled. It was torture to deny her right now, but I had to keep my wits. We were on the run for god's sake. We didn't have time to stop. "I do, you have no idea how much, but remember why we are here? We do not have time for this, we have to leave. Think about Hagan."

Finally I seemed to get through to her as she blinked a few times and her eyes regained some of their steel. She fell back onto her feet looking around us as if she were lost. "I am sorry." She whispered.

I cupped her face with my hand and kissed her cheek softly. "Do not be. It happens to everyone." I told her then led her into the camel fence. We grabbed a couple camels and were on our way soon enough.

It didn't seem to take long for the sky to start to paint itself into brilliant colors as the sun made itself known again. I looked back over my shoulder at her and pointed to the village ahead which was no bigger than an ant in the distance. I kicked the camel in the side and it took off into a sprint. Just in case her plan failed I wanted to find shelter before the sun reached us. Unfortunately, the village was too far away and I knew we wouldn't make it in time. So I jumped down from the camel and grabbed her to run the rest of the way. It was the only way to make it before the sun, and barely that.

WE came running – or sliding – down the last sand dune headed straight into the sunlight. I took a blanket from my bag and threw it over me.

"You do not need that." She said trying to take it off.

I yanked it out of her grasp harshly. "Your blood might not work." I reminded her.

However, she wasn't going to cooperate. She was being difficult as usual and took it from me completely just as the sun came beating down us. I flinched placing my hand over my face preparing for pain, but felt nothing except heat. Slowly I lowered my hand to see it for myself. The sun wasn't burning my skin. At first I thought I was dreaming until I looked up and saw her face. She was smiling at me, from ear to ear.

"It worked!" She said happily jumping into my arms. Slowly I wrapped my head around that it was real because she was real, and I found myself laughing happily. For the first time since I had been turned I felt alive again, truly alive. Like I had when I was human. And since she still felt that urge and I no longer felt like we were in imminent danger – for the moment at least – I gave in. I couldn't deny her and she knew it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Finally! An Ally**

**10 BC**

**Sorry for the delay, I had another story to update, and I wasn't sure what to do with this chapter. Let me know what you think. **

After a few years on the run, we realized there was nowhere to go to be safe from both Hagan and Rome. I had to ask myself which enemy I was more willing to risk. It had been half a century since I killed Appius and I let myself think that perhaps I was safe, maybe by now they would give up the hunt for his killer. However, at the same time I was no longer alone and it was also Samira's life I was risking with every step I made. So I had to make the choice and I decided I would risk Romans in order to keep her safe from Hagan.

At the moment we were in the country known as Syria north of Sinai where we had been. We had only been here a couple weeks, and we didn't dare stay in one city too long. The capital known as Damascus was where I had wanted to stay away from, however Samira disagreed. She said that would be what any enemy would be expecting us to do, so doing the exact opposite would be wiser. And since we both knew Latin there was no danger from the Romans, as long as we acted the part.

Samira was an expert thief, after all that was how she grew up and fed herself for seventeen years. She snuck into a market and stole some clothes, and jewelry. When she came back I was somewhat shocked that she had actually pulled it off.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Put these on." She told me as she tossed a tunic and sandals at me. She wanted us to dress as Romans. Was she insane?

"Godric, if they see us dressed like commoners they will think us slaves and who knows what they will do to us. However, with these, they will think we are at least of some importance and leave us alone." She explained as she took of her dress to put on the new one. I could see that she was unfamiliar with it and needed help so I got behind her and tied the dress in the back for her. "Why do their clothes have to complicated?" She asked. I couldn't help but laugh. She put on some jewels too, the kind that no commoner could ever afford. "How do I look?"

"Like a Roman." I said distastefully. "Personally, I prefer you look like an Egyptian."

"Well, so do I, but Egyptian Samira would be enslaved in the blink of an eye, and so would a Gaul."

"I have been one, remember?" I stated.

"Do you want to be again?" She asked rhetorically.

I sighed and quickly took off my clothes to put the ridiculous looking Roman tunic on. At least it wasn't a Toga, then I would look like Appius.

Once she was ready we went into town to blend in. I was extremely against every part of this plan, however she was far too adamant about it that even if I tried to argue I would lose. Blending in was against our nature, we were predators. Predators do not blend with their prey, they hide and then strike when the time is right.

"Good evening, Madam." One of the Syrian vendors greeted. Samira wanted to stop to be polite, but I kept tugging her along. We didn't have money.

"That was rude." She whispered.

"Do you have money? God knows I do not…Can we please just find someone to drink and be on our way?"

She slapped me on the arm letting me know she didn't like my comment. I was starving, I forgot we didn't drink from the living. "Be patient. There is an army camp just on the other side of town." She promised me, and she better be right or I would end up killing someone. Army camps always had freshly dead soldiers who had yet to be burned.

We slowly worked our way across town. I was actually surprised that her plan had worked and there wasn't a single soldier that said a word to us. They just walked right past us…until we came across a General. Seeing him atop his horse strolling through town brought back flashbacks of the General coming to my home. I could see him again, as clear as day, in my mind. The General before me became the General who attacked my home and I froze.

He stopped his horse just in front of us on the road and stared down at us curiously. I wanted so much to run as fast as I could to get away from him, but I couldn't move. "Who are you? I have never seen you before."

She looked to me and I tried to answer for her, but no words came out of my mouth. My mind was screaming a story to tell him, but I couldn't say it. Luckily, Samira was unaffected by him. "I am – "

"I did not ask you little girl." He said abruptly. Roman women did not speak unless spoken to.

She looked to me again and nudged me in the shoulder. Finally, I snapped out of my flashback. "Um." I stuttered and quickly blurted out the first two Roman names that came to my mind. "Appius and my wife, Adorabella." My maker and his wife. The general definitely smelled human so I knew that he wouldn't know the names. Thankfully.

"Surname?" He asked.

'Think', I told myself. What was Adorabella's maiden name? 'You know this, Anwill told you, think!' my mind screamed at me. "G…Glau…Glaucia." I stammered as the name slowly came back to me. "Appius and Adorabella Glaucia." He nodded and then rode past us. I let out the breath I had been holding. She looked to me and patted my back comfortingly.

Luckily, we were not stopped again and kept going towards the army camp. Once we got there, we went back into hiding. The camp was mostly just tents in a circle formation. We snuck around in the shadows until we made it to the other side of the camp.

As I approached the building where we knew the army was keeping their dead for the time being, I noticed a flash of yellow. I stopped suddenly and Samira, who hadn't been paying attention, walked into me. She looked at me confused and I pointed ahead. We looked again and this time we both saw the flash of yellow…twice. It was then that I realized it wasn't a flash, but a blink. They were eyes staring at us. Instinct kicked in hearing a low growl from the creature within.

Before I did anything she quickly grabbed my arm. "Godric, wait." She said softly. I continued to glare threateningly at the possible threat. "It is a shifter." She told me.

I watched the animal come out of the dark doorway and saw that it was a large black cat. Then it turned into a full-grown man with long black hair tied up. "Were-panther, actually." He corrected.

I looked to Samira and she seemed a little shocked at the naked man before us as she stared at the ground with wide eyes. I cleared my throat to get his attention. He looked down at himself and laughed.  
>"Apologies." He said in Latin. After all we were dressed as Romans, although I was a little surprised he knew the word. He disappeared for a minute then came back with a robe on and I realized he was Arabic. "How did you know?" He asked Samira.<p>

She looked up to me waiting for me to say something, then turned back to him. "I, eh, read your mind." She muttered.

"Samira!" I rasped, that wasn't something you told just anybody. Perhaps, as a fellow shifter she trusted him more easily.

"A mind reader, huh?" He asked crossing his arms. He didn't believe her. Mind readers were very rare and I doubted he had ever met one. "Prove it." He said.

Samira became focused staring into his eyes. Then she gasped seeming surprised and happy at the same time. "You are Egyptian!"

He seemed impressed as he glanced over at me. "Actually." He started. "I had hoped to throw you off. I have been to Egypt, yes, but this is my home…Sargon." He added quickly remembering his manners holding out his hand as a friend. She took it, however I refused.

"Samira." She told him. "This is – "

"Godric." I finished for her.

He furrowed his eyebrows and looked between the two of us confused. "An Egyptian with a European companion. Never thought I would see such a thing."

"Why do you say that?" She asked.

"They are enemies." He stated as if it was obvious. She looked to me for an explanation, but I could not give one. I merely shrugged my shoulders. "You do not know?" He asked surprised by our ignorance.

Samira smirked. "Sorry. No."

He shook his head, holding up his hand. "No, forgive me. I assumed as an Egyptian vampire you knew." He explained. "So what brings you to Syria?"

"Samira." I whispered warning her, yet again, to not trust this stranger. Why I had to keep telling her the same thing, I didn't understand. She knew how I felt about people I didn't know. Yet she was always overly trusting, and always said too much like a child. It was irritating.

His eyes flew to me. "You do not trust me?" He asked.

I looked to him still glaring daggers. "I have no reason to." I explained.

He nodded agreeing, but at the same time he disagreed saying, "You have no reason not to." No wonder they were becoming fast friends, I thought, they think alike. "If I were your enemy I would have attacked."

"Why did you not?" I asked curiously.

"You are no threat to me."

"What makes you sure?"

Samira slapped me in the arm rasping, "Godric." She thought I was being rude. I glared at her not appreciating being slapped like she controlled me. I put up with enough of that when I was human.

He pointed to Samira. "She stopped you from attacking me."

Before I could rebuttal again she grabbed my chin forcing my face down. "Godric, stop it." She said then forcefully let go and turned back to him. "Um, if you do not mind me asking, what is a Were…"

He laughed again. "Like a shifter, except that is the only thing I can transform into." He explained.

"Oh." She whispered obviously feeling stupid.

"They are a vampire's enemy." I added knowing full well she didn't want me to. That was something Appius taught me. He didn't teach much, but it was enough. I knew who to stay away from, and shifters, Weres, and almost every other supernatural creature were on that list.

He didn't seem to mind my rudeness, rather he expected it. "Many believe that." He agreed. "However, my people do not begrudge against those who do not do so against us."

"Your people?" She asked.

"I am the chieftan of a village. All of us are the same." Wonderful, I thought, a whole village of enemies. Even if he wasn't against us, that didn't necessarily mean his villagers would agree with him. And there was no way we could fight them all. "You are not very old, are you?" He asked her. She laughed shaking her head, and he laughed along. "Come, I will show you. You will be our guests." He held out his hand in invitation.

"Another time, perhaps." I said, though I meant never. And he knew it. So he nodded and turned away.

"Wait." Samira said quickly. "About why we are here. Do you know about a vampire named Hagan?"

His eyes lit up with a spark of surprise and hate at the same time. "Ah Hagan." He groaned.

"So you do know him?" I asked curiously. I had hoped we could find more about him, but at the same time part of me hoped I never found anyone who knew him.

"Everyone in these parts knows him. After all, he claims to own it."

"So we heard." I groaned. That was not what I wanted to hear. When everyone knows about you means you are of some importance. Important vampires were the last thing we needed to worry about. It would be better if he were a nobody.

"What do you know about him?" Samira asked curiously.

"Not much is certain regarding that man." He said. "From what I have heard, he was the bastard son of a Roman general and a Briton whore. His mother named him Hagan, and his father called him Hermanus Hagan Hortensius. He was a military man like his father until he was sent on a mission, which took him back home to Briton and he never came back."

"How does a Were know all this?" I asked.

"Because my people have served the Authority for a long, long time." He answered proudly. My first thought was trouble. From what Appius told me, the Authority was not to be messed with. They were a vampire's worst fear because they were ancient. Each of them over half a millennium old, and mean. He said he had met one of them, a fellow Roman. I think his name was Cicero.

"The Authority?" Samira asked.

"A group of vampires who think they run the world." I explained.

"No, not the Europeans." He corrected seeming offended. "The true Authority."

"Come again?" I asked. Appius had told me there was only one Authority and they all resided somewhere in Roman territory. In fact, most of them, were under cover Romans like Appius was.

"You know nothing about your own race's history?" He said seeming surprised. I was offended, but I listened. "Over 800 years ago there was a war between the ancients. Hagan was part of that war. His maker, and leader of the European forces, Cadeyrn took his nine vampires to Egypt to fight the Gifted Ones led by Aapep. In the end it was the Egyptians who won and the Europeans were forced to disband. Cadeyrn died in the war, leaving Hagan in charge of his affairs. Now he thinks he controls everything from here to Briton. In actuality, Turkey, the country north of us, is the border. That is as far South as the Europeans grip goes."

"So, you work for this new Authority?" I asked. I was confused, very confused actually. How had I not known this? How had Appius not known? Or did he know and just didn't tell me?

"The gifted ones control not only the vampires, but we Weres and shifters as well." He explained.

As much as I wanted to know more about this new Authority, my stomach was screaming at me. And I could feel the bleeds coming on. "Alright, as fascinating as this is, we need to feed." I reminded Samira taking her by the arm.

She nodded and they said their goodbyes. Before he walked away he told her where the village was should we ever wish to see him again. Then we rushed inside the building to feed on the first dead body we found.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Goodbye Mortality**

**3 BC**

**Since there was a delay I decided to put up two chaps to make up for it. Please Review. **

For the past week or so Samira's dreams were running wild. Yesterday she didn't even get any sleep whatsoever out of fear. So when I woke up I saw her sitting there curled up on the floor with blood running down her face.

"You stayed up all day?"

She nodded her head not even looking up at me. "It's getting worse." She whined. "If I even close my eyes for a second I see him - his body being prepped and wrapped in cloths." I didn't know much about mummification, but it didn't take a genius to know that that's what she was seeing happening to her brother every night. "It's enough to drive me crazy."

I jumped down from the bed to sit beside her and hold her. Maybe it was time I took her home. The only thing that would comfort her now was to see that her brother was alright. She had already lost her parents more than likely, so he was the only thing of her former mortal life she had left. If he was gone, she was truly alone. I knew what that felt like, and it _was_ enough to drive you to insanity. "I'll take you home." I promised.

"No, it's too dangerous."

"I don't care about danger. I care about you. You cannot keep putting yourself through these nightmares. And once you see him for yourself and see that he's alive and well then it will be over."

"What if he…what if he is already…?" She couldn't even bring herself to say it.

"Then at least you will know for sure and will be able to pay your respects." I said. It was more than I got. I had yet to go home and pay my respects, not that it would do any good. My brothers' bodies were probably scattered across the Empire, I would have no way of knowing where to find them.

She nodded her head agreeing with me. I left her there for a moment to go out and get the camels ready. I still wasn't fond of these animals, but Samira was right in that they were handy. Once they were packed I went back inside to see her standing by the bed like a zombie.

"Samira?" I breathed in worry. Suddenly her body swayed a little to the side, then tilted back and she fell. I quickly caught her and noticed her eyes were closed meaning she had fainted. "Samira?" I shook her lightly a few times, but she didn't wake. I picked her up and carried her to the camel, we didn't have time to linger. I put her up and then got on behind her. I led the other camel behind us and we were on our way back to Egypt. I just prayed that Hagan wasn't there.

After about an hour of moaning and crying in her sleep, Samira finally woke up. I quickly grabbed a hold of her so she didn't fall off. "Godric?" She said looking around. She was most likely confused.

"I got you." I told her, and she turned around to face me. "You are alright." I assured her kissing her forehead.

"Where are we?"

"I told you I was taking you home…What happened back there?" I asked curiously.

She seemed unsure of what I was talking about at first, then it dawned on her. "I…I am not really sure. One minute I was sitting there on the floor, and then the next I was standing on a hill looking down over a funeral."

"A daydream." I stated, it was the only thing that made sense. Then again, with her nothing really made sense. She was a shapeshifter who could read minds and walk in the daylight. Now what? An oracle who could see the future? "In your family, was there anyone else who ever had dreams like you?" I asked trying to put it delicately rather than being blunt.

"You mean premonitions?" She asked knowing my real meaning. "Not really, not that I know of. My father had feelings, like I do, instinct to know when something was wrong, but no one that I know of actually had premonitions."

"Is it possible?"

"I guess, I mean with everything else I can do, premonitions would seem fairly normal…Does it bother you?"

"What?"

"The fact that I am – well, we are not really sure exactly what I am – does it bother you?"

"Samira." I sighed. Sometimes her insecurities frankly got on my nerves. Would I be here if it bothered me? Hell no.

"Please just tell me. Because I am one strange thing after another and by now it has to be throwing you for a loop, and most people would be running in the other direction – " I hated when she started babbling on and on so I shut her up, by pressing my lips to hers. When telling her to stop didn't work, there was always kissing.

"Does that answer your question?" I asked. To my dismay she shook her head rather than nodding. "What more do you want?"

"The truth."

"Read my mind then."

"Godric." She said sternly to let me know she was in no mood for games as she turned around so she was completely facing me. "We have been together too long, you know I can read your mind, therefore your thoughts could be exactly what I want to hear, so tell me the truth. What I am does bother you, it scares you, and it worries you because we do not know what it is and where it ends."

"Why do you ask me when you know the answer?" I asked. "Yes, it scares me alright? It terrifies the living hell out of me, because it is you. If we came across another person like you, you think I would care? You think I would let it bother me? No. It only bothers me because I worry about you. So stop thinking that you are going to scare me away. I am not going anywhere. Alright?"

She smirked a little seeming satisfied with my answer and then wrapped her arms around me. "Forgive me." She whispered.

I remembered what our friend Sargon had told us about the new Authority. He called them gifted ones. I didn't think much about it at the time, but ever since it had me wondering if perhaps there were more out there like her. What if these gifted ones were vampires with unusual gifts like Samira? As long as we never met them, I wouldn't worry about it. We didn't even go back to see Sargon again. She wanted to, but I was against it. I didn't want to be around that many Weres, it was too risky.

When daylight came we hid in a building. However, Samira couldn't wait a full day before travelling some more. As the sun came over the horizon I hurried to unpack the camel to let it rest, but she stopped me. "No." She said as she ran up to me. She took the bag from my hand and threw it back onto the camel's back. "We have to keep moving."

"Samira." I sighed. "I can already feel the burn on my skin." I said reminding her of the fact that I was not like her.

She quickly sighed and sliced her wrist with her fingernail. Then she held it out in front of me. She didn't have to say a word for me to know what she wanted me to do. I shook my head. I had not drink her blood since the first time. We were already connected, there was no need to. Besides, the effects were overwhelming and she didn't exactly handle it very well.

"Please." She begged. Her wound was quickly healing.

I groaned giving in to what she wanted and quickly took her wrist. I sunk my teeth into her skin and drank as the sunlight came down on us. The burning ceased and I felt nothing but desert heat. I felt the rush again, like being intoxicated. I forced myself away, luckily. "You know I hate doing that." I rasped angrily.

"This is important." She reminded me. "My brother may be dead! And if he is and I find out that we could have made it there before he died…" She took a deep breath restraining herself before she threatened me.

"I understand." I told her and took her hand. I lifted her back up onto the camel and we were on our way again. To my dismay I had to keep drinking her blood for the following week before we made it back to Egypt. I felt higher than the sun by the end of the week. And overwhelmed by lust. By the middle of the week I lost count of how many times we made love. Granted, it was better than being drunk on Appius' blood.

Once we were in Egypt the hard part was tracking down the caravan. According to Samira they didn't keep to the same trails so no one on the outside could find them. "How are we supposed to find them?" I asked her. "Back when you were turned it took you a week to find them."

"We may travel all the time, but there is only one place we go for a funeral." She said.

"Which is where?" I enquired.

She looked over to me from her camel. "Hamunaptra." She said. "The city of the dead."

Hamunaptra, she told me was hard to find, and you had to be there at sunrise in order to be shown the way to get there. It was on the opposite side of the Nile from Thebes, the city of the living. When I asked why there, she refused to tell me. She gave me a simple answer saying it was just the place her family was always buried as priests and priestesses. Even now, she wouldn't tell me about her family.

We made it to Hamunaptra's entrance just before sunrise. It was like a mirage, only real. We ran the camels hard into the shimmering city before it disappeared. In front of us was a large and ancient building surrounded by pillars. All around the building as well was the caravan of wagons.

"No…no!" She screamed as she got off the camel and ran into the building.

"Samira!" I called out to her as I followed her inside. I caught up to her and stopped her holding onto her arms. "We do not know it is your brother who has died."

She nodded her head quickly as she cried. "Yes we do." She forced herself out of my grasp and took off running down the corridor screaming her baby brother's name. "Amense!" I sighed realizing there was nothing I could do for her, and followed her.

I followed her all the way down a maze of corridors until we came to a large open room. There was a stairway leading down to what looked like a ritual room. On a large stone table lied a dead body and all around him was a crowd of mourning gypsies. Samira gasped covering her mouth with her hand and began to shake.

"Amense?" I asked. Judging by her reaction to seeing the body, I assumed it had to be her brother. She nodded. I put my arm around her to try and comfort her, but unfortunately I knew that was impossible. She continued to cry into my shoulder while I watched her now elderly brother's body be mummified. Mummification was odd to me, and frankly disgusting. Why would anyone want their insides taken out? I would rather be burned.

Once that was over they placed his body into a sarcophagus and started paying their respects. Samira looked down once she heard them all talking and suddenly went rigid as a woman came forward. I didn't understand until I heard her say two words, "My uncle – ".

I quickly grabbed her and looked down at her in confusion. I was begging for an explanation. She nodded her head slowly confirming my suspicions. She had a daughter. "She is mine." She whispered.

I flashed back to the night I had found her. I remembered hearing a baby crying hysterically, screaming at the top of its lungs. "The baby." I muttered.

"She had not even made it to a year old." She said softly. I could hear regret in her voice, regret that she had missed her whole life. "When I was sixteen there was this man – "

"I get it." I told her. I really didn't want to hear about her being with another man. "Why did you not tell me?"

"Would you have told me you left a daughter behind?" She asked rhetorically. Honestly, I couldn't answer that. How could I, unless I actually had one? "That kind of regret…there are no words to describe the pain that comes from that much guilt." She explained nearly choking on her own words.

I looked back down to the woman. If she wasn't even a year old yet when Samira was turned, that would make her about 33 years old. She was beautiful, like her mother, tan skin like all Egyptians, with long black hair. I noticed the pride in Samira's eyes as she looked at her. She probably wanted so badly to run down to her and hug her. To let her know that she was still there, but she couldn't.

Finally, she tore her eyes away from her daughter to look back at me. "We should go." She said softly and began to walk back the way we came.

"I am sorry we did not make it in time." I told her.

"Me too."

We waited a while outside. She told me that inside was merely the sacred place where they were mummified and sent into the after life. Their bodies were entombed in the family crypt which was underground. The entrance to it was outside, and behind the building. I followed her inside, she wanted to take a look around. She hadn't been there since she was a child, when her grandfather, Amenemhotep V, died. She quickly found her parents, since they were at closest to the entrance. This tomb was enormous, I couldn't imagine how many people, how many generations, were actually buried in here.

"Fifty-four." She answered catching my attention. She had read my mind again and answered my question. Fifty-four generations of her family were inside.

"You cannot be serious." I said.

"It goes back to Hotep I. He died in 1263." 1260 years ago!, I thought. My family couldn't trace its lineage back half of that time and here their entire family was together in one giant underground grave.

She knelt down in front of the wall where her parents' names and a picture depicting them together was painted on it. She began talking to them in Egyptian, so I had no clue what she was saying to them. But I had a vague notion, it was along the lines of an apology for being a disappointment and for trying to kill them thirty years ago.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Encounter**

**Disclaimer: I do not own True Blood, or Godric… Please Review! They are my fuel. And as a reminder, the Egyptian is only me guessing by using an online translator, and later on the quotes were just too long to translate so I didn't even try. **

Back inside the building we found one of the rooms to hide in while we waited out the remainder of the funeral. We had to wait for her brother to be buried and that too was another ritual since Egyptians liked to be entombed with gifts and things that they would need in the afterlife. It was all very strange to me but I didn't judge. She believed in it whole heartedly like I did my own faith, and to stomp on her beliefs was cruel as if she were to stomp on mine. It was one of those things I wished everyone practiced, especially Romans.

As we sat there next to the fire after eating our supper, I soon realized there was something wrong. She hadn't spoken a word since the funeral. I didn't blame her, but it was eerie. She always had something to say. I was usually the quiet one.

"Samira." I said getting her attention. She looked over her shoulder. "What is it?" However, she didn't answer. She merely shook her head lying to me that she was fine and turned away. "Tali?" I guessed, and was surprised when she shook her head. "Then what?"

"I am just sorry that you had to find out more secrets like this." She muttered. The fact that she was mumbling told me it was only half true. There was more that was bothering her. Besides, that wasn't even really important.

"So tell me more." I suggested. It was the only answer to the problem I could think of. However, she disagreed. "You want to tell me, I can feel it." I told her.

She didn't even bother to look up at me. I could see that whatever it was was painfully and slowly eating away at her like a scarab beetle. I have so much in my past that – so much bad and wrong that has scarred me down to my soul." She told me with struggle. "You do not want to hear."

That may have been true, I thought, not knowing exactly what it was. However, if it was bothering her, the not knowing was annoying me because I couldn't do anything about it. "Let me be the judge of that." I said.

So she looked at me again, this time turning her whole body to face me. "Tali's father?" She asked wondering if I would listen to that story.

Honestly, if it was about another man, no I didn't really want to hear about it, but she felt guilty for never telling me about her past when I had told her everything. So I would listen. "Tell me." I urged knowing it was weighing heavy on her mind.

She hesitated studying my face for any waver whatsoever. If I showed any sign that I didn't want to hear she wouldn't tell me. So I kept out the negative thoughts pretending to be curious and finally she sighed giving in. "We had just finished spending time in Abydos where we picked up a stranger." She began looking back to the fire. "He was a traveler from Nubia. Nubia is south of Upper Egypt, and he was going north, so papa said he could ride with us." She explained knowing my lack of knowledge of Egyptian Geography. "His name was Kamenwati. He was 21 years old." I was getting angry at the thought. She had only been sixteen and a man five years older than her, old enough to know better, took advantage of her! "No, Godric." She quickly corrected with a stern voice. "I let him get close to me. I am the one who has shamed myself, not him."

"Samira, it is not as if he was a child like you. He knew better."

"I let him…I thought I loved him." She explained as she picked at her dress absentmindedly. I could see she was lost in her story, like she was reliving it all over again. "I can still see his face. He was beautiful." She whispered to herself. I tried not to feel offended or jealous. She wouldn't try to hurt my feelings by making such a comment, she was merely lost in thought. Or so I kept telling myself. "He taught me how to shoot a bow, how to throw knives, how to defend myself…how to love." Now she was making me sick. To think she was giving him credit for teaching her how to please a man in bed. I didn't want to believe that. I didn't want to believe that everything she did with me was something another man taught her to do. "Anyway." She said getting back to the story. "It took nearly a month of travelling before we made it to Memphis where we dropped him off. I never saw him again after that, and three months later I realized I was in trouble. I named her Tali – Tali III. And she is probably haunted by the fact that her mother left her as a baby and became a monster."

"You really think your family would tell her such a thing?" I asked.

"It is the truth." She stated wiping her tears away from her eyes. Even if it were the truth, I doubt any family would put that kind of a burden on a child. They probably lied to her saying Samira died giving birth to her or something, or died in some horrible accident. It was cruel to say she abandoned her to be a murderous monster. "I want so much to tell her." She whined.

"Tell her what?" I asked leaning closer to her face so I could watch her reaction as if I was interrogating her. I was just curious. "That you love her? That you feel sorry? Love, she already knows that."

"How do you know?" She barked at me forcing me to jump in surprise. It was a rare occasion that she actually yelled like that. I forgave her for it, though. She was upset and angry. And it was true, I couldn't relate, I had no children. The only women I had ever been with were vampires so it was impossible. "She has no memory of me, Godric. None! She believes whatever they told her, which could be anything!"

"Do you really believe your parents would destroy your memory like that, Samira?"

"I tried to kill them, Godric." She reminded me, not that I needed it. The night we met was forever etched in my memory. It wasn't an experience you just forgot. Even if we weren't still together I'd probably remember it. I scooted over to her seeing that she was about to have a breakdown and held her close as she cried into my chest. "I tried to kill them." She muttered again sadly.

"Sh…"

"I am so sorry."

I was too busy consoling her that I hadn't noticed someone coming. I was stunned to the core when I saw who it was that had found us. "Nt sy wi? (Net see wee, Who are you?)" Oh no, was my first thought. This will not end well.

The older woman standing before us was barely taller than Samira, about my height, with long dark hair pinned up by combs and decorated with flowers and beads. She wore a long flowing yellow dress. Samira looked up and froze. Now that I could see the girl's face clearly, I realized she didn't look as much like Samira as I had originally thought. She had Samira's nose, and the same shape of her face. The rest of her face was her father in her. Pity, I thought, Samira's eyes and lips were the best parts of her face in my opinion.

"Tali." Samira whispered painfully.

"Si3-k wi? (See-ahk waa, You know me?)"

Samira stood up. I tried to keep her down by holding her arm, but she forced my hand to let go, then walked closer to Tali. "Nefer. (Beautiful)" Samira whispered.

"Nt sy wi?" She repeated forcefully.

"Do not – " I began but she held up her hand telling me to be quiet. Do not tell her! my mind screamed. I doubted she would listen…and I was right.

"Samira." She said. "Mwt p3y-k. (Mewt pahyek, Your mother)."

I closed my eyes sighing, she actually said it. I didn't know Egyptian but I could see the girl's face. She was horrified. I just knew it.

"Nai." Tali whispered. "Nai." That word I knew, very well. Samira had said it numerous times. "My mother is dead." Tali stated sternly finding her voice again after being shocked by such a statement. "You think this is funny? To kick a woman down even further after losing the only parental figure she had left by slapping her in the face with the mother she never knew?" Tali's boldness reminded me of her mother. They both had a way of going on and on when provoked. "Well it is far from amusing." Tali finished spitting on the ground in disgrace before turning away.

I rested there with my face in my hands groaning in frustration that she was foolish enough to do this, and there was nothing I could do to stop her now it was too late. She went on anyway trying to prove her statement. "Your father's name was Kamenwati." Samira said loudly, her voice echoed down the corridor. I looked up to see Tali stop walking, however she didn't turn around. Samira went on. "A runaway medjai - a deserter. We found him in Abydos coming back from a mission in Nubia where his men were massacred leaving only him. He rode with us to Memphis and we never saw him again." As if Samira had said something familiar Tali finally turned around to face her wide-eyed. She seemed stunned with something that Samira said, as if it were a sacred secret, though I didn't know exactly what she was saying. "Then not even a year later I left you, I disappeared, leaving you to be raised by my parents, Amenthes and Kepi, and my brother Amense."

"Not possible." Tali whispered just before she fell to the floor and fainted.

There wasn't much I understood in what Samira had said, but I knew the word Medjai. It was one of the few she had told me, it was the word for soldier. So I easily put it together asking, "Kamenwati was a soldier." I said. "Medjai?"

She looked at me surprised that I had figured that out, but she wasn't going to lie to me. She nodded. "He and a handful of others were sent to Nubia to deliver a message regarding the coming of the Romans." She continued as she tried to make Tali comfortable by placing a soft blanket under head. "They wanted to move as many people south as they could into Nubian territory. The Nubians did not take in the Egyptians and fight broke out. He was the only survivor of his regiment. He walked the desert for months by the time we found him. He was half starved, dehydrated, we thought he was going to die anyway."

"But he lived." I said stating the obvious or else Tali wouldn't exist.

"But he lived." She agreed. "I nursed him back to health."

She stopped as we heard Tali wake up. She rolled onto her stomach and forced herself off the ground. When she saw that we were still there she quickly backed away in fear until she reached the wall.

"You are safe, dear one." Samira promised taking her a bowl of water to drink. However, Tali did not want it, she knocked it out of Samira's hand and it fell to the ground making a mud puddle.

Tali looked back and forth between us in complete horror as she stammered, "You-you are a ghost. My mother is dead… she died giving birth to me."

Samira looked over to me. "You were right. They lied to her." That was supposed to comfort her, which it did in some small way, but at the same time it still hurt. "I am no ghost. I swear to you, I am who I say."

"Nai." She said again shaking her head.

"How else would I know about your father? My disgrace was only known by my parents and myself, not even my brother knew the truth."

"Samira you are only frightening the poor girl." I told her. She had done enough. There were other ways to go about this and she had to choose the one that caused the most mental damage to the girl. "Let her go."

Samira sighed knowing that I was right. So she quickly wrapped it up by getting to the point. "All I want is to tell you…I love you. You were the most precious thing the gods ever gave me, and I am sorry that I left you so soon. I did not wish to."

Tali hesitated looking between the two of us in fear. Her body shook against the stone wall. "I forgave my mother a long time ago." Tali told her before getting to her feet and running away.

"Well that went well." I said sarcastically earning a rather un-amused look from my companion, but I didn't care. I liked stating the obvious sometimes, it made a point. "You could have handled that better."

Samira turned her body towards me wide-eyed with curiosity and crossed her arms over her chest. "How?"

"You could have told her you knew her mother, and had sought her out to deliver her mother's dying words." I said and her ill amusement only intensified. "Or something along those lines." I added.

She merely shook her head in disagreement and plopped back down on the ground to sit. "I panicked." She admitted. "I had to tell her, and the truth just came pouring out of my mouth before I could comprehend what I was saying."

"I know." I told her. I didn't agree with what she did, but I understood her excuse. And I left it at that.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Invasion**

**Disclaimer: I don't own True Blood. And I'm SO SORRY for the late update, been busy. I'm trying. **

**8 AD**

Another few years passed by quickly. Too quickly for my opinion, but then again we had eternity. The peaceful times always seemed to go by the fastest. However, like everything, peace cannot last forever. Eventually, I knew, something was going to come along to threaten us.

I was lying in bed ready to go to sleep for the day. Samira, however, was standing there staring out the window. She was afraid to go to sleep. Her dreams I never understood had come yet again, but I knew enough to know that whenever they came something else was on its way. Something bad. She knew it too. I had asked her numerous times what she saw, but she refused to tell me as usual. She didn't want to burden me as well with it; she wanted to carry that weight on her own. No matter how heavy. And the longer we were together it seemed the heavier it got.

"Samira, I can see the sun from here, come here." I pleaded yet again for her to come to bed, but she was as unresponsive as the dead. I knew words weren't going to get her attention so I got up from the bed and walked over to the window to close it. I expected her to try and keep it open, but she remained standing there. That worried me. "Samira?"

Without answering she turned around and walked to the bed. Casually, she lay down as I had asked her to before, like nothing had happened. This wasn't like her at all. I was beyond worried, now she was scaring me.

I walked over to the bed and knelt down beside her. She laid there staring at the ceiling. "Samira?" I said softly and slowly laid my hand down on hers. Our skin touched for less than a second and something flashed into my head like a dream. But it was more than just a vision, it was a feeling. An instinct. "What just happened?...Samira, answer me!" I pleaded getting frustrated.

"She cannot." I heard from behind me. I was startled believing perhaps I was seeing a ghost. Eleven years ago, Samira's brother had died and we saw Samira's lost daughter. Eleven years and now she stood before me no older. She looked over my shoulder to her mother curiously, then moved closer.

"Stay away from her whatever you are." I rasped through my teeth.

"You're ordering me to stay away from _my _mother?"

"What are you?"

"Same as my mother. Not long after we met." She informed me. So sometime after we had seen her at the funeral she had been turned. Odd coincidence. The last thing this world needed was another –whatever Samira was – no offense. I loved her, but one of her was enough. "I apologize for the way I reacted when we met, but – "

"You – you are telling the truth." I muttered.

She laughed at me. I didn't appreciate being laughed at. She ignored me, though, and walked closer to Samira. "It is what we call a trance."

"A spell?"

"Not exactly. It is a manifestation of her power, like her dreams, only not in her sleep."

"Wonderful." I whispered. Having them during sleep was bad enough, now I had to worry about her having them at all times of the day?

"It will pass when she's seen what she needs to see." She informed me as she made herself comfortable sitting on the foot of the bed while I sat there on the floor thinking. How could one woman bring so much drama into my life? I had fled Rome to be free, to live as I pleased. Now here I was with Samira, risking my life all day every day to protect her, and not only that but trying to keep up with more surprises around every corner. I couldn't help but wonder if this was what the rest of my life would look like, and if I really wanted it.

"You love my mother, do you not?" Tali asked curiously. Perfect, another mind reader. I would have to set her straight, no one allowed in my head except Samira. And even she had a limit. "Sorry, it is kind of hard to turn off." She was referring to her access to my thoughts. Samira had told me the same thing, but she also said it wasn't impossible to turn off, just difficult. She said it was like trying not to listen to the person talking next to you.

"Yes." I answered her first question.

"So why would you not want to be with her forever?"

"Not your business, is it?"

"I guess not." She admitted with a sigh. "Apologies. I will come back tonight after you are both rested." Then she sped away into the rising sun and didn't burn. She really was Samira's daughter.

Helpless and unable to do anything more I climbed into bed beside Samira for the day. I needed rest and hopefully she would wake me when she came to. So I let myself drift asleep.

Night time came and I woke up. I quickly looked to where Samira was and she was sleeping peacefully laying on her side with her face towards me. I felt relieved. I snuggled up closer to her and kissed her forehead thankful that she was better. Her eyebrows furrowed feeling me and her eyes fluttered open.

"Godric?"

"Sorry."

"Is it night already?" She didn't remember falling asleep. She had been in that trance for so long.

"Go back to sleep." I whispered wrapping my arm around her to hold her as close as I could. How could I ever leave? I felt beyond stupid to ever have thought such a thing. No matter how strange things got, I loved her too damn much. I needed her. Without her I would probably be no better than the monster that created me, like most vampires.

"I'm sorry I frightened you." She remembered the trance and hearing me beg her to come around, but she couldn't speak. It was awful, it was like her own body was a prison. She was starting to hate what she was, I could sense it. Being a vampire wasn't bad, it brought her me, but the rest of it she would be happy to be without. "I tried to speak, but I – "

"Sh…" I whispered. I understood, she didn't have to explain. Tali had done enough.

"Someone's coming, Godric. They found us." She whined against my chest in fear. She didn't have to say who, either, I knew who she meant. Hagan. The man we'd been running from for the past couple decades.

After she calmed down and we fed, we were on our way again. We had to find Tali, though, I didn't tell her that. How could I ever explain that her daughter who had completely gone crazy after seeing us last time was now one of us and more than that, just like Samira? I couldn't. She had to see for herself. Tali had to be the one to do the explaining, she would have too many questions for which I had no answers.

She knew Hagan was coming, which was enough to get her moving. It also had her completely paranoid and frightened down to her very soul (if vampires still had one, that is. It was a debatable). I hadn't asked what she had seen either. I wanted to know, because I wanted to help, but I knew it was pointless. She was beyond my help, all I could do was be her shoulder to cry on, which was enough for her. I wished I could do more. But at the same time I knew I didn't really want to hear the details. Her visions could get pretty eerie.

Luckily, she knew Egypt like the back of her hand, she had a map etched into her brain, so I just followed her. She knew where to go. All she had told me was it was somewhere she highly doubted Hagan would know about, and even if he did he wouldn't know how to get there. We were going back to the City of the Dead. I thought for sure we'd run into Tali there, so I had no problem with it.

When we finally made it there (it took us a day and a half), I was starving. Unfortunately, there wasn't exactly anyone alive in the City of the Dead, and all the dead were embalmed. Bloodless. A vampire's nightmare.

"I'm going to go check inside, stay out here." She said as she hopped down from her camel.

I quickly registered what she said and whipped around angrily. "I am not letting you go in there alone."

"Someone needs to keep watch out here, and between the two of us I am the only one who knows my way around inside. You would only get lost."

Unfortunately, she was right. I didn't like it, but I couldn't argue. Right now was one of the few times, perhaps the only time, I wished we had a third member in the group. Then again, three's a crowd. I watched her disappear into the darkness of the tomb while I stood beside the camel.

It took her only a few minutes to check the entire area, had she been human she would've been wandering around in there for hours. She came back out satisfied that we were alone. I wasn't so sure though. I still believed Tali would be around somewhere. It only seemed right, it's where we saw her before, and she would've known we were coming here.

"Now what?" She asked me curiously.

I sighed uncertain, I'd been asking myself the same question. I shrugged unable to answer it.

"We just wait?"

"Where were you in your vision?" I asked. It was the first time I'd enquired about any part of what she saw.

"It was dark."

Figures. Visions couldn't just lay it all out for you like a blueprint, they had to be mysterious and make you analyze everything. And then you weren't always right.

"But I don't think it was here. I don't remember running around a maze of corridors, it was more open."

That just meant it wasn't inside. What about outside?

"I don't know, alright?" She said in frustration.

"Sorry." I whispered. I forgot to keep my thoughts to myself.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be barking."

Not wanting her to feel bad I took her hand pulling her close to me. I kissed her forehead gently breathing her in as my hands caressed her face. She melted against me wrapping her arms around my waist clutching my back. This was one of many moments I felt at peace, with her in my arms. I'd never felt love before, and I always wondered if I'd know it when it came around and there was no mistaking it. Just feeling her against me warmed me, she made me forget what I was and made me feel alive again.

"That's how you make me feel too." She whispered honing on my thoughts again. I couldn't help but smile and lean down to kiss her. "I love you." She added in quickly before pressing against my mouth harder.

But I pulled away before she got carried away. We still didn't know if it was safe. And me being the paranoid lover that I was, I wouldn't feel safe until I had proof that we were. So until then, my guard was up. She pouted not getting what she wanted, but she ultimately understood why.

"So we just sit here and do nothing?" She crossed her arms over her chest and plopped down into the sand like a child. It was to make her point to me that she was unhappy with it, but she'd get over it. I'd make it up to her later. I decided to sweep the area, she had checked inside, but this was a city after all, there was more than just the tomb. I wasn't going to leave her though.

"Come on." I said pulling her up by her hands until she was standing. Then I took her by the hand and led her around the building.

"Godric, there's nobody here." She whined dragging her feet behind me.

"You don't know that." I stated. She just wanted to believe we were alone. I did too, but I wasn't going to let what I wanted to believe cloud what was real. If her vision came true I would never forgive myself. And as I looked up I noticed the sun was setting painting the sky in a beautiful array of bright colors. We were running out of time.

Eventually, we made it through the whole city and there wasn't a trace of anyone.

Until we made it back to where we started. The camels were gone. How had that happened? They'd never walked off before.

"Oh god." She whispered as she noticed what I had. It's hard to hide footprints in the sand. Someone tried, but the markings left by whatever they used to brush the sand with were just as obvious.

I pulled her behind me holding her close as I scanned the desert in front of us. There wasn't much to hide behind save a few statues.

"I know you're out there!" I called. "Don't be a coward!"

"Godric." She rasped unhappy with my taunting, but I ignored her. Threats and insults always worked to get someone out in the open. I didn't want anyone jumping out at us. No surprises.

"Hagan!" I yelled as loud as I could. When no one answered I figured it wasn't him, just one of his minions. Better. "Or is it one of his dogs? Hagan at least would have the sand to come out and face me! Coward!"

My tactic worked as I could smell someone coming. But it took me too long to register that the wind was blowing from behind me, meaning the attacker was behind me. I quickly jerked around so that he got to me before he could get to her. I was tackled to the ground taking Samira down with me. He tried to grab for her feet but I punched him off of me. She scooted away and just sat there watching the two of us brawl in the sand like uncivilized men. It was the vampire way, we didn't use weapons like I would have if I were human.

I could tell my opponent was older than I was, fully grown and taller. And therefore stronger. I was losing the fight and it angered me more than anything. I couldn't let him get to her. But I couldn't let anger control me, I had to think, be smarter than him. Samira probably wanted to join in, but she knew I wouldn't allow it so she stayed there in the sand crying, worrying about me.

After what felt like minutes of fighting, which was probably only one very slow minute, I lost. It didn't help that I was still hungry. He finally got ahold of me and threw me into one of the statues. It cracked and I fell to the ground. The sand wasn't soft at all to land on like one would imagine. Like landing on water. I tried to get up before he got to Samira, but I was too late. I heard her scream as he wrapped his hand around her throat ready to squeeze until her head popped off. I struggled to my feet, my vision blurry from the blood in my eyes, but I could see him. I ran as fast as I could.

But just before I got to him, something buzzed by me and tackled him to the ground. He landed on his back glaring up at his attacker with his fangs out and growling. Then something shiny rose in the air and came down like a guillotine chopping off his head. Then for safe measure he knelt down to stab him in the heart with a stake causing him body to liquefy splattering blood everywhere including on us.

When he stood he turned to me holding up his hand. I stayed there not attacking as he put away his weapons. He spoke in Egyptian so I looked to Samira. I really needed to learn the language, I told myself.

"He means us no harm." She said getting to her feet. She turned to him and bowed her head thanking him for saving us. Surprisingly enough, he knew Latin and began speaking so I could understand him.

"He was an intruder here, I was merely doing my duty." He explained.

"What duty?"

He laughed at my stupidity. "To the Authority, of course. My duty is keeper of this sacred place."

I looked to Samira curious as to whether or not she believed him. I was getting tired of hearing about this supposed "Authority". What were they really?

"Come, I will show them to you."

"No thank you." I said trying to be polite.

She disagreed with me and stepped forward. "Why?" She was curious. Her curiosity was going to get us in trouble.

"Well, because you're one of us." He stated matter-of-factly. We looked at each other now stunned. One of who?


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: A Chance to Fit In**

**8 AD**

These strangers we had never met before led us through a series of underground tunnels making more turns than my memory could keep up with. Samira kept looking back over her shoulder to me to make sure I was still there – I hadn't gotten lost behind. She reached her hand back and I took it. I didn't appreciate the fact that the person guiding us had his hand clenched to her arm. I wanted to rip it off. Perhaps that was another reason she kept looking at me – to make sure I wasn't getting overly angry and aggressive.

After what felt like hours we finally reached a large doorway. Our guide stopped holding up his hand to us to stay put and he walked over to the guards. I could hear them mumbling in Egyptian so I whispered to my Egyptian companion, "What are they saying?"

"I am not sure." She admitted, which surprised me. She hadn't gotten rusty. "It is odd, like a code." She said. It made sense, they must have known she was Egyptian so they had to speak differently so she wouldn't detect anything. Also it wasn't as if she was the only Egyptian around. They were in Egypt, so perhaps they always spoke in code. When the guide stopped talking, the guards nodded and opened the doors for us. Inside I could see light and a lot of sparkling gold. As I stepped into the room I felt the sunlight and quickly retreated back behind the doorway. Samira looked back to me noticing I let go of her hand, then she looked up to the ceiling where they had a large oval window which allowed the sun inside.

"What is it?" We heard an unfamiliar voice say. I knew the phrase.

She turned to him. Judging by the way no one looked him in the eye and the way he carried himself with his hands behind his back, he was the one in charge. "Sir." She said bowing her head to follow suit. "My companion is not immune to the sun as we are." She explained.

He nodded seemingly accepting the statement and with a wave of his hand the initial sun mirror turned away from the light and the entire room went into darkness. Then all the torches on the walls magically lit. "Is that better?" He asked.

"Thank you sir." She said with hesitation due to the impressive magic trick. The tall man, who looked to be about thirty and six-feet-tall with short dark hair and a well trimmed beard, looked to me confused. She noticed and quickly said, "He does not know Egyptian."

"I see." He said understanding my own confused face. "Where is he from?"

"He is a Gaul, sir."

"European." He rasped with distaste, which worried me as he bared his teeth at me. Then suddenly he was standing in between the two of us glaring at me with his fangs out. Defensively, mine appeared as well. "What is your name?"

"He is Godric, sir, my lover."

"Is he your maker?"

"No. I never knew my maker."

She caught his attention and he spun on his heels to look at her with his head cocked sideways. "Never knew?"

"Never." She repeated.

"Godric is definitely a European name." He said turning back to me. "Who is your maker?" He asked in Latin.

"Why?" I asked unwillingly.

"Godric, please, do not cause a fuss." She begged. We had enough trouble as it was, true, but that didn't mean I was going to be polite to someone I didn't trust just to avoid problems.

Before I could answer he leaned down over me and inhaled taking in my scent. He paused to think for a moment. "No." He said finally. "He smells like no one I have ever met." Samira sighed in relief as he walked away from me and I quickly took her hand pulling her to my side protectively.

"Why are we here?" She asked him.

"Because like us, you are different. You can withstand sunlight, and have shown the ability of magic as seen by my soldiers." He added pointing to the man who guided us there through the tunnels. "What else can you do, I wonder?"

"Honestly, I am not sure of the extent of my abilities." She told him. It was true she wasn't one to show off what she could do, at least not to me. She was far too noble a person. She only used her abilities when she had to. Then again, maybe if she knew how to use them, it'd be a different story.

"Well, tell me what you _do _know." He said.

"Before I do anything for you I wish to know why. Who are you? And why are we here?"

The man looked over his shoulder to the woman behind him. She was beautiful, tan skin like Samira, obviously Egyptian, tall and curvy with a slim dress on. My guess was she was _his _woman. She nodded agreeing with Samira that they had a right to know, so he gave in. "My name is Bastian, this is my wife Dorothea."

"I thought you were Egyptian?" She said daringly raising an eyebrow in question.

"Very well." He sighed. "My birth name is Awi, and she is Woserit. We are the rulers of our people, the Authority that governs them and protects the gifted ones."

We knew that much. He couldn't tell us something we didn't know? "Alright, so why are we here?"

"As I said, you are different, like us. Our order comprises of we the gifted."

"Are you asking me to join your order?" She asked slowly trying to understand this man.

"How old are you?"

"Not even a century." She admitted.

He sighed seeming displeased. "What a shame. However, you are gifted and as you said you do not know to what extent, so I think it best you stay."

She looked to me and realized she better put him off politely before I do so rudely and drag her out by her wrist. "Sir, I appreciate your humility, so take no offense, but we are not fond of trusting people we do not know."

"What do you require?"

"No." I urged so I made myself perfectly clear to him and everyone else in the room. The last thing I wanted was someone thinking they owned us. He raised an eyebrow in surprise at my abruptness, but I didn't care.

She turned to me to talk quietly. "They are like me."

"Samira, I said no. I do not care what they offer, we are not staying with strange vampires we never met before."

She nodded understanding I wasn't going to budge on this matter and turned back to Bastian. "I am sorry, but we must humbly decline."

"Unfortunately, lady Samira you do not have a choice."

"Pardon?" She hesitated.

"You heard me." He said stepping closer to her and I instinctively got in front of her baring my fangs again ready to fight him if I had to to protect her. "Calm yourself, boy, I do not wish to fight you. I am trying to protect you."

"Protect us how?" She asked from behind me.

"If others were to find out about your gifts they would become your enemies. There are those out there who wish to make our kind extinct."

"Can you give us a minute?" She asked him and he nodded agreeing to it and left the room. He ordered the others out as well. I didn't really know what was going on so I turned to face her.

Once they were gone I grabbed her wrist urgently. "There is nothing to discuss." I said and tried to pull her towards the door to get out before they locked us in.

"Godric – " She whined pulling out of my grasp.

"No." I rasped harshly. Why was she doing this to me? Why was she acting like a child, putting herself before us. It was selfish and irritating.

"For once, will you just listen to me?" She said urgently catching me off guard. I blinked a few times uncertain of what to say or do. "Sorry." She quickly apologized for her outburst. "He makes a good point. I am not like you or anyone else, I am like them, and they have enemies who hate gifted ones like us. He wants to protect me."

"That is my responsibility."

She sighed rubbing her inner eyes as if _I _were giving _her_ a headache. Please. "You put too much on yourself. You should not have to worry about me all the time."

"Yes I should." I corrected her. My duty to her was to worry about her so that I could protect her. I had to be suspicious and paranoid. A moment is all it may take for someone to harm her if I let my guard down. Besides, she was no different; she was just as paranoid about my own safety if not worse.

"Fair enough." She said. "That does not change the fact that what he is offering is fair."

I growled low in my chest in frustration that we were even having this conversation. That ihad to actually explain it to her was going to cause me to kill someone. "Samira, how do you know you can trust them? I am not willing to take that chance."

"Then we give them the chance to prove their worth."

"Why are you so set on this?"

"All my life I have been an outcast. Our family was banished to be gypsies, living on the streets as beggars and thieves. And now I do not fit in with our own race because of my abilities. For once in my life I have the chance to not be the freak."

"You sound like a child." I stated. I was frankly disappointed that she was in this merely for her own vanity.

"You do not understand." She said softly, but with anger and frustration. "If you had the chance to turn the table and be the leader instead of the slave for once would you take it?"

"There are more important things than your vanity."

"Would you?" She yelled demanding an answer from me. She was getting impatient with the argument. She was so dead set in this, that every rebuttal I made only infuriated her more. And unfortunately, it was the same for me. Our two tempers were flaring and we were getting no where with this argument. One of us was going to have to budge.

I couldn't lie to her either. She would only read my thoughts anyway and know I was lying. So I admitted it, "Yes."

"Then do not criticize me."

"I just do not trust them."

"You were not so paranoid of me when you found me there alone. Hell, you would not leave me alone." Ok, I had to give that to her. I hated arguing with her, she always found a way to win. Even if she was losing she would not stop until I gave up and she won by default. "Please."

However, I stood my ground this one time. If they wanted me to trust them with her very life, they had another thing coming. I was not so easily convinced. If it were my own life in the balance perhaps I would have been more flexible, but it was hers. "No…not now at least." I added to soften her disappointment. I gave her a small sign of hope for the future. I would give them the chance to earn my trust, but until then they were to have nothing to do with her.

She gave in knowing that was all I was going to negotiate at the time. She nodded and then went to the door on the other side of the room which blocked the room they had retreated into. I heard the knocks she made echo bouncing off the walls, and I heard her talking to someone after the door opened. Then she was beside me again holding my hand and we were led out through the tunnels again. I was surprised they let us leave.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Unfortunate Brother**

**10 AD**

**Please Review, Please. I don't care if it's just an update soon or good chap. I just want to know that ppl are actually reading it. **

After refusing the Authority I wasn't foolish enough to stay in Egypt. I had to get us out of their territory. I wouldn't risk them coming after us, or rather Samira.

I knew the Roman map of the world enough to know that if we travelled West to the edge of Africa then we could cross into Spain. Spain was still Roman territory, but it was close to England. Northern England was not Roman territory, it still belonged to its natives. That was where we had to go.

We took a carriage this time rather than riding camels. She used her influence as a fellow gypsy to barter one for us claiming that she would pay them when we arrive at our destination. One thing about gypsies: they were loyal to each other. There was no need to even glamour him.

We spent most of the time in the back either sleeping or talking to pass the time. At night we would stop just long enough to hunt and feed. It was like that for days, almost two weeks.

After a few days, she got tired of the distance between us. She knew I was hiding something. She knew something was bothering me. When I wouldn't tell her, she improvised. She used her womanly charms to get at me.

"I have noticed something." She said scooting closer to me on her hands and knees. Once she got to me, she straddled my lap. "Since I had that vision, you have not even touched me."

"Samira, please."

"Why?" She whispered into my ear. She kissed me lightly nipping my earlobe and kissing my cheek. "It is almost as if you do not love me."

I grasped her by the arms tightly, but not too tight. "You know better."

She carefully removed my grip from her arms and wrapped them around me looking deep into my eyes. "Sometimes fear is stronger than love, Godric. You know this. How can you love me if you fear me so?"

"Samira." I whispered intently. "It is not you I fear. I fear whatever magic is inside you, it's unpredictable."

"It is still me." She stated placing my hand on her heart. Even though it no longer beat, it was still alive. "No matter what I am, it cannot change me. Neither can it change how I feel, for that is stronger than anything." She leaned forward still holding my hand in place. Her lips descended on mine and she kissed me gently, teasingly. Just enough to get a taste and then she pulled away. "I love you."

"And I you." I told her moving a stray hair behind her ear.

"Then show me."

Obligingly I wrapped my arms around her and rolled us over so that was on top of her. I took my time wanting to pour everything I felt into her. I wanted her to never doubt me again. While I was laying on her she pushed my shirt up and eventually pulled it off completely. Once it was off she took her time going over every muscle, which she had already memorized. Yet she could never get enough. And neither could I.

I pushed her dress up her legs and immediately she wrapped them around me, while her hands moved onto their next project. Her fingers fumbled with trying to get my pants off, while her mouth was busy with mine. Somehow kissing her always got better in the heat of the moment. And the longer it lasted the higher I got, and the hotter. If I could kiss her for the rest of eternity I would be completely satisfied. If only I could live off of her instead of blood. What an existence that would be.

Unable to do as she wished she pushed us over and ended up on top of me. Then, much to my dismay, she removed her lips from mine so she could sit up. She removed my pants as quickly as possible, and then removed her dress lifting it over her head. Once her body was revealed to me I quickly sat up to hold her tight and do with it as I pleased. It was times like that I wished I could read her mind. At least I could hear her moan so I knew she liked what I did.

After a couple weeks on the road we finally made it to the other side of Africa. To the Romans it was the Province of Mauretania, and it was ruled by a Roman Client King named Ptolemy. We waited for nightfall before leaving our driver. I glamoured him again so that he wouldn't remember any of this and sent him home. Samira didn't appreciate it, but I wasn't going to take chances. If anyone knew he drove us, they would use him to get to us. They couldn't if he didn't remember. She also wanted to take a break from travelling and at least stay the night there in the capital of Rabat, but I didn't want to chance it. It was Roman infested.

"You really have to get over your fear of them, Godric." She muttered as I pulled her along hiding behind the buildings. There were people still walking up and down the street. Guards. I ignored her and kept going.

"Godric." She rasped yanking her arm out of my grasp. "I'm tired, I'm hungry, and that makes me pretty irritable. I am not moving another step." She stated placing her arms over her chest to emphasize her seriousness. Any other time I may have been more lenient with her childish tantrum, but not when there was a chance that a member of the European Authority, the one that mattered in my case, was in that province. New vampires were always found and always ended up going straight to visit whoever was in charge. We couldn't linger.

"Samira, I am not going to play this game with you." I said sternly through my teeth as I stepped closer to her.

She raised an unappreciative eyebrow at my authoritativeness. "What game?"

"Keep walking."

She leaned forward as if she was going to tell me a secret, and whispered, "No."

"What do you want?" I finally asked in surrender knowing she wasn't going to cooperate until she got it. I didn't like it, but I couldn't control her and tie her up and drag her down the street kicking and screaming. Well, I could, but that would be too conspicuous.

She came closer to me closing the gap of the alleyway between us. "I want food, and a bed with sheets and pillows." She said softly. Her arms were thrown around my neck loosely while she gave me the biggest eyes she could muster and a pouty lip. "Just one night."

"Samira." I sighed hanging my head. Looking at her made it too difficult to say no.

"Please? If something happens and you truly think we're in danger then we'll leave. I promise. But, love, you are afraid of someone who's not here."

"You don't know that." I reminded her. They could be anywhere. Just because Appius told me where he knew them to be didn't mean they were still there. Plus they had their own progenies and guards all over the Empire. All it took was the right person to hear my name and we were on the road to our execution.

"If we were in danger, I would know."

I didn't know whether or not that was true. I mean, yes she saw the danger coming back in Egypt, she knew Hagan was coming. But her powers weren't precise, we didn't understand them, we didn't know anything about them really. They could be wrong, or there could be danger and she didn't know it. We may not always get that lucky. I trusted her, I did, I just didn't trust her so called powers.

"No." I said one final time before taking her hand from around my neck and guiding her back through the alleys. She was unhappy about it, but she didn't fight me.

And eventually we made it to the border and crossed into Spain by swimming.

Finally, after another day of walking and travelling, we finally stopped at night to rest. I didn't feel safe yet, but we needed it. We were tired. We glamoured an old lady who lived alone outside of the city and spent the night there. We also needed to feed, which was another problem in and of itself. I knew Samira would hate me for it, but we couldn't risk leaving the house. So, while she was upstairs taking a bath, I glamoured the old lady to go get a few friends who lived close by and bring them back to the house.

I could feel the bleeds coming on and it was a very unpleasant feeling. It felt like the equivalent of starvation, dehydration, and the Flu all rolled into one.

By the time Samira finished her bath, the old lady had returned with her friends who all gathered in the main room of the house. I couldn't help myself nay longer and I had already begun draining one of them when Samira walked into the room.

"Oh my…" She gasped. Her hands flew to her mouth in shock. But I couldn't stop…until she stopped me. Her hand grabbed my shoulder pulling me away. "What do you think you're doing?"

"What's it look like?"

"Godric, this is not who we are!" She lectured.

"Samira, we do not have the time for the luxury of your supreme way of life. And I apologize, I do. But we need it. I am hungry, my gut feels like its on fire and folding in on itself over and over again. My body feels like I have frostbite because I have no blood in my system. It hurts!"

She turned her face away unable ot look at me like this. It hurt my feelings, but I had to put it aside. Sometimes you just had to do what you had to do to survive.

"Join me or starve." I finished before going back to the young girl who was on the brink of death. She was lovely too. Her pale complexion was nearly perfect for a mortal, any more perfect and I would assume she were one of us. And she had long dark hair that reminded me of Samira, which I ignored or else it felt like it was her neck I was biting.

When I finished with her, her body slumped over the side of the couch. Beside me was a random man who was of some acquaintance, a friend probably. And even though, I was still hungry, I looked to Samira who was sitting in the other room across the hall. She still refused to look at me. Even when she had started to bleed.

"Samira." I called, but she ignored me. "Samira, please, you need this." I repeated as I stood up from the couch and walked to the doorway. I was close enough now that I realized the blood from her eyes wasn't from the bleeds, they were tears. Damn it.

I hung my head in shame. I wanted to be the man she wanted me to be, but sometimes that was damn near impossible. I had been taught to be a predator like the rest of us, and until I met her I was one. That instinct was still there, it would never die. And whenever I got hungry I could feel it like a beast inside me clawing, trying to break free for the hunt.

"Do not sit there and starve." I begged. Still she said nothing. What blood I had in my system started to boil. Next thing I knew the beast was free and in a fit of rage it, or rather, I killed the three remaining humans by bashing them in the head with my fist. In the process I broke almost everything that was around me. And she just sat there, cringing at every broken sound, and crying.

"Is that better?" I screamed. "Will you feed now that they don't have to feel it?"

She got up and charged at me. My head bounced off the floor and her hand wrapped so tightly around my throat I couldn't breathe even if I wanted to. Her eyes blazed like fire as they stared down at me and her fangs threatened to tear me apart. She waited to come up with the right thing to say before she spoke.

"Never… _Never_ speak to me in such a way. _Never_ kill in front of me again. If you want to act like an animal, a savage, ruthless beast, get _out_ of my sight and _never_ return."

In an instant I was free of her paralyzing weight and she was gone. The beast inside me fell silent and I was myself again. I looked over at my shoulder at what I had done and there aren't words to describe the horror I felt.

I quickly scrambled to my feet and ran out the door to go after her. But, when I got outside, it wasn't just her I found.

Someone else was standing there, someone I had hoped never to see again. He found me. And he had his hand around her throat ready to pop her head off like a flower off a stem.

"Hello, brother." Calix greeted with a false smile.

"Calix." I breathed.

"Nice company you keep." He told me. Then as if she were prey, which she was to him, he ran his nose along her neck smelling her. "She is lovely."

"Let her go."

"Godric, who is he?" Samira asked in fear.

"Oh, he's not told you about me?" Calix asked pretending to be heartbroken and surprised by it. He knew I would never admit to anyone who he was. I had told Samira as little as I could about my past. It wasn't important. But now it had come back to bite me.

"Calix, please. This is – it's between you and me, let her go."

"You had your chance, brother. Over half a century to come back and explain like a man."

"You would have killed me."

"I'm still going to kill you." He corrected with an amused chuckle. "Killing your maker is unforgiveable."

"Appius got what he deserved. They both did."

"And what about your little friend…Anwill? Clever of you to fake his death to make Adorabella so furious, so vengeful."

"Calix, what did you do?"

"His death is no longer a falsehood. I killed him myself. After he told me the truth, of course. He always was a coward."

Hearing that he had killed who once was my best friend, my only friend, I charged praying to every god in the universe that he didn't harm her first. I got him on the ground and Samira rolled away unscathed. Unfortunately, Calix was stronger than I was. He was older, and had more blood in his system. He easily got the upper hand and I ended up being the one with my back on the ground.

"No!" Samira cried before he could harm me. Her cry echoed throughout the darkness of the night, even into the sky. I thought she would wake the entire city. I also expected another jolt of magic, but apparently she was too weak.

"Relax." He sighed resting back. His arm fell to his side and he had a big grin on his face. "I won't kill you."

"Come again?" I stuttered.

"You heard me. I was just testing you."

"Anwill?" I asked hoping that that had been a lie too, as he claimed his anger was. But then again, how else would he know that we faked his death if Anwill didn't tell him after being interrogated?

"Dead, but not my doing."

"I don't understand."

Getting off me he helped me to my feet. "Appius deserved what he got, Godric. Indeed, I applaud you, I do. Bravo." He added clapping his hands lightly.

I looked to Samira who was just as confused as I was. And still frightened. She didn't trust him, but she didn't know him. I did, but I remembered him being extremely loyal to Appius as a progeny and a lover. Was it all an act? Did he really hate Appius as much as the rest of us, or was he acting now? I had no way of knowing.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Lost Family Part I **

**Sorry for the late update, again**. _**Please REVIEW!**_

Apparently, Calix had a plan to win over my trust. I didn't know what it was, but after following him for days and ending up on the coast I realized where we were. It may have been a century since I'd seen it, but I'd recognize that water anywhere.

"Cisalpina." I muttered. I was home.

"Good memory." He applauded patting me on the back.

"This is your home?" Samira whispered in my ear. I nodded yes and she took my hand lovingly and kissed me on the cheek. "It's beautiful."

She was used to seeing nothing but sand. She'd never seen a forest of green a day in her life. So I wasn't surprised by her compliment to what was once bland to me, but I appreciated it nonetheless. It was beautiful.

"Why are we here?" I finally asked curiously. And how did he know I was from that part of Gaul? Anwill had been from the center the Romans called Celtica. I was from the south of the mountains, the ones we tried to escape through. That part of the country they called Gallia Cisalpina.

"I just figured after all this time you would be extremely curious."

"As to what exactly?"

He laughed at me as if I were an idiot. "Your family, of course."

To say I was shocked would be an understatement. I couldn't move at hearing the mention of my family. I stuttered trying to say something, but no real words would form. He laughed yet again and took my wrist to lead me. Feeling him touch me I quickly jerked away.

"It's over here." He said. "I'll show you."

We followed and there it was. It wasn't the same house I grew up in, of course, that had been burned to the ground. Someone had rebuilt it. He gave me a smile showing he was proud of himself and walked towards it. Now, Samira was getting cautious. I walked forward, but her hand in mine was like a weight and it stopped me in my tracks. She refused to move. However, I was too determined so I gave her arm a hard tug and forced her to move.

Once we were inside the house, which to my surprise was almost an exact replica of the one I remembered, I saw an old white-haired man sitting at the table.

"Tannis." Calix whispered softly as he leaned over towards him. "It's Calix."

"Ah, you have returned."

"I told you I would. And I brought the company I promised you."

The old man looked my way solemnly. "Have you come for answers?"

"This is Tannis, great-great-grandson of Crixus."

Samira smiled to assure Calix that everything was alright, but I more than anyone knew how deceitful she could be. It was a false smile. She pulled me aside to whisper, "Godric, I don't trust him."

"Samira, this is my family. If you were in my position would you not want to know?"

"Of course I would." She said sympathetically, however there was a but coming. "But he could be lying. How would he really know about your family? You never even told me."

She had a point, but Calix had had plenty of time to do his research. And there was one person I told. Calix claimed Anwill was already dead by the time he found him, but what if Anwill was alive and Calix forced him to tell him about my family? All in hopes of using it to get on my good side. I knew the possibility, but Anwill wouldn't have told him even if his life depended it. Besides, the chances of him actually finding a member of my family after all this time was nearly impossible. However, I couldn't ignore that small possibility that it was true. I had to know. The not knowing what happened to my siblings after the Romans took me away was eating away at my mind. I still dreamt about them.

So finally I walked towards the table where the old man was sitting and sat across from him.

"Who are you?" He asked slowly. "You look familiar."

"Tannis, this is Godric." Calix answered. "Remember, I told you one day I would bring him back home?"

"Godric? Godric was the name of one of the boys that was taken by the Romans over a century ago."

"This is he."

"Calix." I warned. He was telling this old man we were immortal. That was dangerous. By the looks of the old man I doubted he'd believe we were insane, he seemed more apt for it.

"He knows." Calix said. "I met him decades ago when he was a young man living with his parents."

"What do you know about my – your family?" I quickly corrected myself even though it was pointless. He already knew who I was.

"Are you really Godric? The second son of Cadman?"

"I am."

"Then I will tell you everything."

"Wait, you believe me?"

"I have seen my fair share of strange in my life. This house, for example, it's haunted. Sometimes I hear laughing, a little boy."

"Coran?" I murmured remembering my youngest brother who was barely a year old when it happened.

"I believe so. Sometimes I hear Elka as well roaming the house. It's almost as if she and the child are playing hide and seek. I have seen your father, though. Or at least, I suppose it was him in the woods. He seemed lost."

My father? Lost? I think he had the wrong man. Then again, Samira had told me about spirits once. Even if they knew where they were in life didn't mean they did in death. Apparently she noticed my confusion, she came up behind me and squeezed my shoulder. That was probably her way of telling me that what he was saying was true.

"Was Crixus the only survivor?"

"You are mistaken, sir, Crixus did not survive."

I froze. Crixus had been my best friend. We were inseparable as children. And he was invincible. If anyone could have survived it was him. "How?" I gasped.

"Crixus was a gladiator. At one time quite famous, he was good at it." Naturally, I thought, he always was a good fighter. "He was even the lover of the Lady of the house, who was trying to conceive. Then one day he met a foe too great and lost his title as champion to someone else. It happens. He survived, of course. He also fell in love with another, the mother to his only son, Naevia. She was the one who got away and brought their unborn son here to Tamsin. She was the only survivor of our family."

I was curious as to how Tamsin of all people survived, but I still wanted to know how my beloved older brother died. "Then how did Crixus die, if not by a fellow gladiator?"

"I'm sure you heard of the infamous slave rebellion?"

"Spartacus." Calix elaborated.

"Yes." I had heard of it.

"Crixus was second in command. He died in that war. I doubt he ever knew he was going to have a child."

My head fell to the table in grief. I should've been there. Had I not run, I could've found him and helped him get away and live. The rebellion had been after I was turned, a couple years after. I shouldn't have left so quickly.

Samira could feel my grief and hear the thoughts in my head which made her feel sorry for me and she wrapped her arms me. She tried to convince me it wasn't my fault, but it didn't help. I could've saved his life.

"Brennus too." The old man added. "Brennus was another gladiator and died alongside his brother as one."

"And Taranis?" I managed to say through my weeping.

"He and Brennus were sold to the same man. Taranis became a servant serving their master personally. However, he was found to be a traitor and put to death. The worse part is that – "

"How could it get worse?" I rasped angrily raising my head up from the table to glare at him.

"Brace yourself, Godric." He warned, but I ignored him waiting for him to continue. "The Romans did not kill Taranis. They ordered someone else to do it."

"Oh my gods" Samira gasped reading his mind. Her hand flew to her mouth in shock and horror. Tears sprung from her eyes at the image in her mind. "How could he?"

"Taranis ordered him to. If he hadn't they both would have been put to death."

"You mean – " I muttered but I couldn't bear to actually say the words. That my brothers were forced against each other, and Brennus, as a gladiator was Taranis' executioner. I screamed out in anger and agony punching the table and it broke in half under my fist. Samira quickly wrapped her arms around me again to try to restrain me but it was pointless. My whole family, all of them, with the only exception of my dear sister had been slaughtered. And where was I? Oh yes, Egypt!

"Perhaps, you need some time for all of this to register." The old man pondered looking wearily at me. "Calix can lead you to the sacred place where hopefully you can make peace with it."

I looked over my shoulder to Samira who was looking back with a worried expression on her face. It was clear that she didn't know what to think about any of this and her gut was telling her something wasn't right. She shook her head slightly to convince me not to follow. He wasn't looking we could try to run. If we ran he'd only follow. I may have a chance of getting away, but she would never be able to outrun him. She was too young. And using magic on him would be too risky unless she was able to kill him. So I took her hand and we followed him.

I still knew that forest like the back of my hand as father had taught us. Seeing the trail that we followed that horrible day to try and escape the Romans brought back too many memories, that I couldn't help but become teary eyed. It was the worst memory of my life. As I kept following him I realized we were following that exact trail. I was being forced to relive every moment of those days we spent on the run.

When we finally reached that cliff where I had almost fell to my death, it became too much. I turned away and looked to Samira. "I cannot do this." I whispered leaning against the mountain. "I cannot…it's too real." I clenched my eyes shut and like a vivid dream, or rather nightmare, there it all was replaying for me. Brennus's scream as I fell over the ledge, then my poor sister who nearly drowned. I could still hear her scream and the splash then another splash as Father went in after her.

Then I felt Samira's arms around me holding me close. "Sh…it's only a memory. A distant dream." That's what I used to tell her when she was still haunted by what she did to her own family that night I found her. I always told her it was just a distant dream, it didn't mean anything anymore. And it would go away if you stopped holding onto it. Apparently, this proved that even now I was holding on too tightly to my family's memory. I couldn't let them go. They had been the only thing good in my life, until her.

She started humming in my ear to try and calm me, like a mother would to her infant. It was soft and soothing like a lullaby. I held onto her tightly. Frankly, she reminded me of my mother in that moment. Hearing her hum that tune put me back to when I was a boy and Mother sang us to sleep. And then I realized that I was muttering the words she used to sing.

"Coo roo ku, coorooku, coo roo ku, coo ku."

She pulled away curious as to what I was saying. I taught her how to speak my language but she had never heard me say that before. I kept mumbling those words as the tears fell from my eyes. The last time I heard them was in that cave not far from the ledge where the Romans found us. She sang it to us all by fire that night with tears streaming down her face, because she knew it was going to be last night she ever got to sing it for us.

Samira wiped the bloody tears from my face and kissed my lips tenderly. "It's alright."

I got ahold of myself and we kept following Calix until we made it to that damn cave. I was hesitant to step inside. It looked the same. Yet, Calix was urging me deeper inside as he pointed to the tunnel. That was where my brothers had ran to get away. Though, I doubted they were successful. I followed him deeper into the cave. It forked once and we went one way, then it forked again and we went another. But not before he pointed back the other way.

"That is the way out." He informed me. "Your poor brothers took the wrong tunnel."

I didn't even bother asking him how he knew that. I didn't want to know. We kept following him until finally we came to a large cavern. I expected it to be as dark as the tunnels had been, however there was a small opening in the high ceiling that let the sun shine down. And when I followed its light I saw it. The memorial. This cavern had become a burial ground.

"There they are." Calix said.

I rushed to the stones and fell on my knees seeing the first name that was engraved, and the most heartbreaking. Tamsin. I couldn't help but put my hand to it and feel the letters for myself to make sure they were real. Then I looked to her right and saw a name I didn't recognize. And more. Her family – my family. Then I noticed Coran's name as well, just below Tamsin's. They had buried him here and Tamsin returned to put his name on the rock so he wouldn't be forgotten. Yet they were the only two there.

"Where are the others?" I asked urgently.

"Sorry, brother, but your dear sister was the sole survivor. The others never returned home."

My heart couldn't break anymore than it already had. So I lashed out in anger instead, screaming like a mad man as I started pummeling some of the large boulders on the ground around me. I made sure not to hit any of the tall columns so the ceiling wouldn't cave in on us. We would make it out, sure, but I wasn't going to ruin my family's resting place.

It hurt Samira to see me like that. I could see it in her eyes. She was terrified and heartbroken. She could feel my pain and hear it in my head. I was begging her to help me, but she couldn't. Eventually I fell to my knees and then she rushed to me.

"I shall give you a moment." Calix said politely turning away. He wasn't giving me and Samira a moment alone, he was giving me a moment to grieve.

"My love, look at me." She begged as I kept staring at the names on the wall growling in anger. I wanted to be angry so I didn't cry and humiliate myself anymore. "Pawee maroot." She whispered. For some reason hearing her say it in Egyptian was more mesmerizing than in any other. "Now you know. It's time to let them go."

I shook my head disagreeing with her. "How?"

Before she could answer she went rigid. I didn't understand why, but her eyes moved from mine to look to our side.

"What?" I asked curiously. Why was she afraid?

"Who are you?" She asked.

Oh wonderful, she was talking to phantoms now. For once, was it too much to ask for no magical interruptions?

(For the sake of the story, this is not in Godric's POV since he can't see Tamsin).

"I am Tamsin."

"The sister?"

Tamsin nodded and look to her older brother sadly. She reached out to him wanting to comfort him, but she couldn't. He couldn't feel her, or even see her. "Why can he not see me?"

"But I can." Samira said softly to give her hope. "What do you want to tell him?"

"That none of what happened to our brothers was his fault. Our lives were taken from us by the Romans, same as him, and we each chose our own path from there."

"Love." She whispered turning back to Godric. "It's your sister."

"You can see Tamsin?" He asked in disbelief.

"She wants to tell you that it's not your fault. They each chose their own path, same as you."

"But I got away." He argued. "I should have found them."

Samira looked back to Tamsin who was shaking her head disagreeing with her brother. "It would have been impossible. When I got away I tried to find the others. I searched for a year before I finally came home and all I found was Crixus' lover who was with child."

Samira turned back to Godric. "She tried to find the others, and she failed. You would have too."

"She was human. I could have forced the information out of them, I could have found them."

"And risk exposing yourself and be killed by the Romans you ran away from!" Tamsin said loudly willing him to hear her, but he couldn't. Samira quickly looked at her wondering how she knew that. "I'm a ghost." She laughed. "After I died, I realized Godric was the only one still living, since he wasn't on the other side with the rest of us."

"So you searched for him?"

"Not only me, but the boys as well. Crixus is the one who found him. He stayed with him for a while hoping one day Godric would be able to see him and then Crixus could push him in the right direction. He said Godric was lost, he wasn't our brother anymore. And he wasn't going to leave him again until he fixed it."

"Well then where is he?"

Tamsin laughed again looking at Samira like she was silly. "Godric no longer needed Crixus. He has you now."

"Me?"

"You brought life back to him because he loves you. So we let him go so he could be happy. Tell him now he has to let us go."

"Godric." Samira said taking his hand. "You were unaware of this, but they know. They know everything that you have been through. After he died, Crixus found you and looked after you until you no longer needed him."

(Godric's POV again)

"Who was he to judge that I no longer needed him?" I burst angrily.

"He left because of me." She said trying not to take it personally. I was angry my brother left and telling me that might make me blame her. She couldn't help but worry knowing that I would shoo her away in hopes of my brother returning. "Loving me put you back on the right path, so they left us alone."

I could hear what she was saying, and I understood it, but I desperately needed to hear it from them. The guilt I felt was too great to be taken away by heavy handed words. For all I knew she was making it up as she went along. So I prayed, and willed myself to see my sister. Just once.

And when I opened my eyes, there she was.

"You see me." She sighed realizing that I was looking directly at her.

I couldn't help myself and I quickly got to my feet in excitement. "I see you."

She rushed to my side. Last time I saw her she was so little and now she was taller than me. She had grown up. She had long dark hair and wore a white gown. She was beautiful. "Godric, you have to let us go."

I shook my head. "It's my fault."

"No!" She said loudly. "You have to let that guilt go. The others would tell you the same. We chose our fates. I chose to die here, Crixus and Brennus chose to go into that battle, and Taranis told Brennus to run him through. How is any of that your fault?"

"I ran, Tamsin! Like a coward! I ran from Rome when I should have found you to take you with me."

"You had to run. They would have killed you, and if we were with you we would have been killed too. You know that, and that's why you ran. Only now that you know what happened to us do you wish you would have spared us, but you couldn't. Let it go."

Even though I was hurt and angry, I couldn't help but laugh at her. "You sound like mother." I told her.

"Well, I'm not eight anymore, brother. I grew up, and became a mother myself. If only you could do the same." She sighed looking to Samira hopefully. I could see it in her eyes, she liked the woman that was with me. "But at least you have a woman, a good woman who loves you. She will take care of you. That's why Crixus left you. You do not need us anymore, she is your family now."

"Forgive me for not coming home."

"We forgave you a long time ago. Now go."

I didn't want to, but I accepted that I had to say goodbye to her and she began to vanish. She blew a kiss from her hand smiling. She was at peace, at least.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Lost Family Part II

Samira and I found Calix waiting by the entrance. He was just sitting there relaxing like he had no care in the world. Or he was just a very good actor. I hadn't decided yet. My gut was telling me he was acting, but something was off. I just didn't know what. Yet.

"Calix." I said clearing my throat to get his attention.

He looked our way and quickly hopped to his feet. "So, do you believe me now?"

I nodded unable to deny anything. I just saw my dead sister, how could I not believe it?

"Good, we can go back to the house then. I mean, if you want to."

I nodded again taking Samira's hand. In actuality I didn't want to go back to the house just to see the old man, I was extremely curious if I was now open to the other ghosts of my family since I opened myself up to Tamsin. I wanted to see them all and finally say goodbye.

As we walked we stayed back far enough that Calix couldn't hear us whispering back and forth. Samira was whispering, "You know it's unlikely."

She was referring to me seeing my family. "I know." I sighed. But I had to try. If she could see them then she could point them out and I could focus like I did with Tamsin. Even if I couldn't see them, she could and she could mediate for me. I could still say goodbye.

She squeezed my hand feeling my emotions and it effected her. She felt bad for me. I never told her any of this and now that she was seeing it it was overwhelming. But she wasn't running away. She'd never run away.

"The old man said my father was in these woods. Can you see anything?" I asked looking around in the darkness. The sun would be rising soon, so we had very little time. I couldn't risk him seeing her in the sun.

"No." She whispered back. Then she stopped me. "Wait." She stood there with her eyes closed focusing on the sounds and smells around her. She couldn't see him, but I guess she thought she would be able to hear him. Did ghosts make noise? I wondered.

"I hear humming." She whispered pointing in the direction it was coming from.

But I heard nothing. I looked ahead and Calix was gone from view. He probably figured we stopped to be alone for a minute. It wasn't like I didn't know the way home.

"It's definitely a man, but it's faint." She said opening her eyes again to look at me. She was wanting to know what I wanted to do. Were we going after him or not?

I hesitated since we had no way of knowing whether or not it was truly him or someone else. These woods could be filled with ghosts, or hunters, or anyone really. "Lead the way." I finally said. She was the one who could hear him.

She took my hand and started leading me to the west. Home was east.

We walked a ways and then found a boulder to hide behind. She must have spotted something as she pulled me down.

"What?"

"What did he look like?" She asked curiously.

So she did see somebody. Now all she needed was confirmation. "Uh…" I pondered trying to rack my memory for a picture of my father. "Tall, broad, hair like mine, and dark eyes."

She gave me a smile to let me know she'd found him. Then she nodded her head to the side. I followed her lead and peeked over the boulder. I couldn't see anything, though. Just trees.

She stood beside me and whispered, "He's…" She swallowed hard trying to bring herself to say something. "butchering a deer."

He was on a hunt. That would explain why the old man thought he was lost. He wasn't lost, he was tracking. Or was it both?

She quickly made her way around the boulder before I could tell her not to. I heard her clear her throat, probably to get his attention.

"Ca…Cadman?" She stuttered trying to remember his name.

I did as I did before and focused hard, and prayed for the ability to see him. When I opened my eyes everything went blurry and slowly it came back into focus and there was a man standing in front of her.

"Who are you?" He asked her quickly holding up his knife. As if that would do anything.

"Samira, Sir. Perhaps, you've heard of me."

"Samira." He pondered. "Samira."

She went on to elaborate seeing he wasn't figuring it out. "I'm a friend of Godric, your son."

"Godric? Where is Godric?"

That was my cue and I came from around the boulder. "Father." I called standing straight ready to be judged. If he knew the things I'd done, he probably wanted to scold me. And I didn't blame him.

"Where have you been, boy?" He asked calmly, but I could still hear the demand in his voice. He wasn't particularly violent unless he had to be. But if he had to be, he could be very violent and he was good at it.

"A lot of places." I joked. But he didn't see the humor in it. So I quickly corrected myself and asked, "Forgive me."

"Godric, I am the one who needs to be forgiven. I drug you through these woods to that cave and sealed your fate. The Romans got to you because I failed to protect you."

"Father, they would have found us eventually. You must know that. They conquered everything. We would have had to cross the sea to get away from them, and we would not have been fast enough."

"I know what they put you through. I would give anything to have it not so."

"I know."

Father walked closer to me and put his hands on my shoulders like he used to do when I was boy just before he told me something important. If only I could feel it. "You are a good man, son. I'm proud of you."

"I will never let you down again. I promise."

He gave me a smile and looked back over his shoulder to his dead deer, which was a phantom as well. "I have to get this meat to your momma before it spoils."

"Goodbye, Father." I whispered painfully.

Then he turned back to the deer and they both vanished. I had just finished crying from seeing my sister and now I was in tears again. Father's words made me feel worthy again. Something I had craved for so long, since I'd been turned. I felt like his son again, rather than some monster. That meant more than anything.

"Come on." Samira whispered kissing me on the cheek.

We returned to the house where Calix was waiting for us. I sat at the table across from my fairly distant nephew and confessed that I believed him. After seeing my sister and our father, I couldn't not believe. I just wished I knew how to move on. I'd been holding on so hard to that guilt that I ran away without even trying to find them, I was so selfish only thinking of my own life, and theirs were the ones that ended. Here I was still alive, and not only that, but with a woman who actually loved me. I didn't know what I was going to do now. I didn't know how Samira lived with her guilt.

She came behind me squeezing my shoulders lovingly to let me know she was there for me and leaned down to kiss my ear. "It will be alright." She assured me.

"Give me a minute." I whispered in return. "Both of you." I added looking to Calix. He nodded and went outside, she was more reluctant. Perhaps, she didn't want to be near Calix without me, she didn't trust him at all. "Go on." I urged with a smirk trying to ease her mind that it would be alright. "Just a couple minutes."

She gave in with a loud sigh, obviously irritated that I didn't let her stay. "I'll go find something to eat." She muttered lowly enough so the old man couldn't hear her.

(For the sake of the story this isn't Godric's POV)

Samira went outside walking past Calix who was leaning up against the house by the doorway. She kept her head up facing forward trying her hardest to ignore him. Especially when she felt him following her.

"Where are you off to?" He asked curiously.

She knew he was full of himself, and only pretending to be curious. He was up to something. So she kept moving and didn't answer him.

He didn't like being ignored, so he rushed ahead and got in front of her cutting her off. "I asked you a question." He said very seriously.

"I do _not_ answer to you." She said just as seriously with obvious distaste and irritation.

"You don't like me, do you?"

She didn't need to answer that, it was rhetorical, so she didn't. She just walked around him, or at least tried to. He grabbed her arm harshly stopping her. Samira didn't like being grabbed, it brought back bad memories, specifically the one that turned her. So she spun around and quickly hit him in the chest with both hands sending him flying backwards. She was stronger than he anticipated. Then she ran off as quickly as possible before he could see where she went.

(Godric's POV again)

After finishing talking to my nephew it was dark. Calix was sitting on a rock playing with a piece of wood he was carving into something that looked like an animal in the making. I looked around and smelled the air – Samira wasn't around.

I turned to Calix thinking maybe he knew. "Where's Samira?"

"Don't know. She ran off and hasn't been back yet."

It didn't take that long to go hunting. Especially when we didn't exactly hunt, hunting required your prey to be alive. Our food was already dead. I guess she didn't want to come near Calix. So where would she go that only I would find her? Or was she nearby just waiting for me to call her back, or for Calix to disappear.

I walked off into the woods looking for her. "Samira!" I called aloud, but not too loud. "Samira?" I walked about a mile or two in and stopped when I heard sticks breaking. I slowly turned around and there she was staring back at me. At least she was alright. I held my hand out for her. She took it happily and I pulled her close. Looking down at her face she still had blood stained below her lips. So I rubbed it off with my thumb.

"Why didn't you come back?"

"I don't like him, Godric."

"Give him a chance." I pleaded.

"How many years did you spend running from him and all of a sudden he brings you home and you trust him?"

"Samira, if he wanted to kill me he could have by now. He could have killed us both."

"Godric, he's a vampire, he's an animal. What is the nature of a vampire? They never just kill, it has to be entertaining."

She had a point. Vampires liked to play with their food, but we weren't exactly food. I didn't want to trust him wholeheartedly, I was smarter than that, but I didn't want to just kill him. Honestly, I didn't know what I wanted to do with him.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Arriving in Britain

15 AD

After Calix had taken me to my home allowing me to see for myself that some part of my family still lived – for which I was eternally grateful – it was time for him to show us his home. Samira had hoped that after we left Gaul we would go our separate ways again, but Calix wanted us to see this first. She tried again and again for days, weeks, months, to persuade me to run away and get back to our own plans. The only problem was that our plan was only to run and hide. We had nowhere to go, and Hagan hadn't found us yet. I had explained the situation to Calix and he had heard of Hagan and knew how brutal he could be. He understood why we would want to as far as away from him as possible. And he claimed that by following him to his home, Britain (he was a celt), we would be safe from Hagan who never came that far west.

Eventually Samira gave up trying to reason with me and she followed me silently. It had been over a week now since she spoke a full sentence to me. She wouldn't even let me touch her – the simplest touch and she would turn away. it was like we were strangers again. And it broke my heart. Perhaps, that was the point. I had broken hers by siding with my "brother" and not agreeing to run off with her, so she was doing all of this out of spite.

When we finally reached the water that separates Britain from the rest of the known world, Calix bartered for a boat, or rather he threatened to eat the man in charge of it, and we boarded. It wasn't a very big boat, barely big enough to carry its supplies and us together. The entire time we were sitting there, Samira was standing at the front looking into the fog waiting for something threatening to appear, while also avoiding me.

"Is she _still_ mad at you?" Calix asked me pointing behind his shoulder.

I nodded slightly in shame that I had offended her so deeply. She had never been this mad at me for this long.

"She really knows how to hold a grudge, does she not? Then again, that's women, I guess. They were always so complicated, but that's what makes them so exciting and fun to play with."

I knew from the moment he said the word 'play' that he had struck and cord he should have left alone. Samira despised sexist remarks like that. So I knew what was coming.

"We are not playthings." She said sternly getting his attention.

He seemed fairly surprised that she had actually spoken. I think that was part of the reason why he said it, he wanted to see if he could get some kind of rise out of her enough that she would finally speak. "Ah, she speaks. For a moment there I was beginning to worry you had gone mute."

She spun around to face him agitatedly, her eyes blaring like the sun. If looks could kill, he would have been dead in an instant. "Do you think you are amusing, speaking to a woman in such ways? Perhaps, surrounded by men, but I warn you to hold your vile tongue in my presence you chauvinistic, overbearing, son of a dog!"

She had been waiting a long time to get that insult out of her system. He wasn't surprised either, except for the words she chose. He sat there a moment in silence batting his eyes as she tried to comprehend what exactly she was saying about him.

"You think me sexist? I can assure you I am nothing of the sort. I love women! That was all I meant by it, that you intrigue us, and myself, for that very reason, we see you a challenge. I meant no disrespect. And as for your other insults, how am I overbearing?"

"You dragged us here. I spent countless days begging the both of you to go your separate ways after we left Godric's home. You showed him what you wanted to show him, and earned some piece of his trust back by doing so, I think that is quite enough! But apparently you do not agree! Now here we are on this boat full of fish going to a place we have no business being in, all because you said we should. You, sir, are an overbearing, overconfident dog. You are not even a man. All you want is to control him and get even for what he did to your maker to whom you are still loyal even though he is dead. You think you can fool me, you are dead wrong, do you understand me?" By the end of her ranting she ahd been screaming at him as harshly as she could to get her point across and to vent out some that pent up anger she'd been holding in for I-did-not-even-know-how-long.

"Samira, please, calm yourself."

"Godric, when I want your help, I will ask for it."

He sat back and clapped his hands as if he were proud of her for her outburst. "You have courage, I will give you that. You certainly know how to stand on your own two feet. Bravo."

Afterwards she turned away again and spent the rest of the trip sitting there on the bough playing with the water. At one point I thought I could hear her crying, but she would never cry in front of someone like Calix.

When we finally arrived on land she was the first one off the boat and she ran off before I could see which way we went. By then I had grown extremely tired of her games and her attitude. Calix found it amusing and stood there laughing at my frustration.

"How is this funny?" I asked him.

"Because she has you so wrapped up, she has you on a leash, or at least she did. Now she's upset because you are no longer doing as she wants you to do. And she calls me overbearing…" He laughed again.

It wasn't like that, but there was no telling him he was wrong. He'd only get angry and we'd end up in an argument wasting precious time that I needed to go hunt her down. I hoped she merely caught the scent of something to eat, but I knew she either just wanted to get away from us, or she wanted to lure me away from him so she could scold me. I didn't really care either way, I just had to find her and bring her back before someone else found her.

I ran after her following her scent as best as I could. It wasn't easy. She was far too good at hiding her tracks. Gypsies knew how not to be followed if they didn't want to be. They were excellent hiders. I followed her scent as far as I could, which was only about half a mile and then I lost all track of her. I stood there for a moment trying to think of what I should do, and where she might go. Then I heard something crack, it sounded like a stick. So I ran that way and caught her scent again. Now she was toying with me. I chased her for a couple miles and then lost her scent again. But I could hear something moving in the trees. Birds would cry and fly off after being spooked and the leaves would rustle. I looked up and next thing I knew she was in the tree above me. So I grabbed onto the lowest branch and flung myself into the tree landing right underneath her. She was on another branch not far from me.

"What game are you playing?" I asked her in frustration.

"We cannot trust him." She said yet again.

"You do not know him, Samira."

"And neither do you!" She barked before jumping into another tree.

I groaned knowing I had to follow her, I had to catch her. Or else it wouldn't stop. I chased her from tree to tree until I caught her. This time I landed above her and I was able to grab one of her wrists before she jumped again and I pulled her up to me and pinned her against the trunk. I was so frustrated with her and on top of that I was actually sexually frustrated from being unable to even touch her for the past few months that I lost control of myself. I pinned her there using my body by pressing it against hers and I held her hands in place while I kissed her. It was rougher than I meant it to be, but I couldn't help it.

I had hoped that she would give in feeling me against her, but it only made her angrier. She bit my lip surprising me and I let go. When I looked in her eyes I still saw anger.

"How dare you…"

"Damn it Samira!" I yelled. "What did I do?"

"You chose a side."

"You hate me now because you think I chose him over you?"

"You did choose him. You always took what I said into consideration until what I said was speaking against him. I understand he's your brother, in some sense of the word, but he is not family. Family do not kill each other. He is the one toying with you, Godric, not I."

"Samira…" I sighed again rubbing my forehead. I didn't know what to think. I knew she was right, I always listened her to in the past because her instincts never proved her wrong, but something about Calix had me curious. I didn't trust him, per se, it was more that I wanted to see for myself what he was up to. If we just ran off as she wanted, he would follow me like he had in the past. I didn't want to run anymore.

"Why do you not believe me?"

Hearing her whine like that, and plead for me to listen, I took her hand and kissed it gently. "I do believe you. All I ask is that you trust me."

"Godric, I trust you with my life, you know that, but even if you are planning something, it will not work. Something bad is going to happen if we stay with him, I know it. And I know you don't want to keep running from him, but we have been able to hide before, we could do so again. Please." She begged again wrapping her arms around my neck and caressing my face. Then she leaned forward resting her forehead on mine. "I do not want to watch him hurt you."

As important as this conversation was, I was too succumbed by the fact that she was so close to me. For once she wasn't turning away from me, she was actually leaning into me. I took advantage of it and this time I was less forceful about it. I kissed her softly at first asking permission and she didn't push me away so I became bolder and pushed her back against the tree again kissing her more passionately. It was like I had been deprived of air, my life source, and was finally getting it back. I couldn't get enough.

She chuckled when she felt me hand slink its way into her dress. "Godric, not in a tree."

"Why not?"

"It'd be more comfortable on the ground."

"But it'd be easier for someone to find us." I whispered against her ear. At that moment I didn't care where we were as long as she gave in to me. I just had to have her, I couldn't wait any longer. It'd been so long it almost felt like the first time again, when I had to memorize every inch of her, and I took my time because I couldn't get enough of any it. She kept trying to persuade me to take us both out of the tree, but I ignored her. It wasn't until I was already inside her that she stopped protesting and just enjoyed it. She wrapped her legs around my waist as tightly as she could keeping me as close as possible while she kissed me back with just as much desire and need. And she hadn't been taken in so long and felt that kind of pleasure that she was louder than I remembered, not that I minded it. What man would.

By then Calix was probably scouring the woods looking for us, but I was in no condition to stop. Once was not enough to dull the desire that had been building up. After the first, I took us to another tree where there were two branches close enough together that I could lay her down on and I kept going. She happily took everything I gave her and gave all of herself in return. I didn't even care when I felt the pain of her nails digging into my back.

Before we knew it the sun was coming up and we were still in that tree. She was on top leaning over so she could kiss me. Once we noticed the light coming over the horizon she offered her neck. It was either that or burn, so I sat up and bit down. She moaned as if it felt good to feel my fangs on her skin sucking the life out of her. Then again most vampires did, it was just part of what we were. So much so that it triggered both of our releases nearly instantly. I took as much as I needed then let go and we both finally relaxed.

"We should probably go find Calix." I sighed as I wiped my mouth.

"If he sees you in the sun…"

I hadn't thought about that. "So then what do you suggest? We stay here all day?"

"We were already here all night."

"I appreciate the thought, but we're both tired. Not to mention hungry."

She agreed and we finally let go of each other enough to get dressed again and go scouring for something dead to eat.

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	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: Cravings **

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The next night we went back to where we had landed looking for Calix. However, he wasn't anywhere to be found. If we were lucky, he merely went wandering around trying to find us, or he went hunting when he got hungry. I knew he wouldn't just leave us there, whether he was with us out of his brotherly duty or for vengeance he wouldn't just leave after so many years of looking for me. And unfortunately we hadn't found anything to eat yet, not during the daylight, so I figured we might as well go try again and hope we run into him. I only hoped he hadn't been spying on us the whole time. I didn't know why he would, but if he did he would know that Samira was different. I cared more about that than his being possibly tricking us into believing he wasn't out to kill me for killing our maker.

Together we tried to find him for about an hour, but there was no sign of his scent other than one track which led us in circles which would make me think that he was looking for us and couldn't find us. So we abandoned the search and went looking for food. My stomach and my throat were on fire. Even Samira smelled good – not that she didn't usually – but it was more than her scent of desert flowers, it was blood – blood I had tasted before making it that much more tempting. And she could see it.

"You need blood." She said cupping my chin to examine my flushed, even paler face. I could imagine how I looked – terrible. My eyes even more furious looking, frightening.

I gently removed her touch. Her wrist was just below my nose.

"If it would help…"

"No. I will not risk it. I may not be able to stop."

"Do you have enough sense not to attack a human if they pass by?" She asked knowing full well my taste for it. She was the only one who could honestly say she'd tasted human blood, but it didn't really appeal to her as it did to the rest of us. It smelled good, but she didn't have a craving for it. I did.

She was testing me, I knew it. I was too hungry to resist anything right now, food was food, and everything smelled delicious. So this was a trick question, she knew the answer was no, she just wanted me to admit it and take her blood so that I could regain some sense of control over myself long enough to find someone dead to feed on.

When I didn't answer she offered her wrist again. "Take it, love. It's better than murdering someone. I promise I'll stop you if I have to."

I didn't want to. Not only because it was her, but because her blood was like a drug. I was becoming addicted to it the more I drank it and eventually it would be better than human blood. However, she was right and I was too hungry to wait. So I hesitantly brought her wrist to my lips kissing it tenderly at first to apologize for the pain I was about to cause and then I wrapped my lips around it and bit down. The second her blood hit my tongue I was high. I was warm. Unfortunately, it also made the thirst that much more demanding and I bit down harder to take more. I tried not to, but I couldn't control it.

After what felt like hours of being on my high of the steady flow of blood going down my throat, I faintly heard her whisper to me to stop. I hadn't realized that we ended up on the ground because she no longer had the strength to stand. Her hand was in my hair trying to get my attention. But I had been lost in my own world in the clouds. Finally, she gripped as hard as she could and got angry enough to pull me away and my body rolled to her other side. She gripped her wrist and tucked it underneath her body to hide it from me so I wouldn't be tempted to go after it again.

I sat there a moment taking in breaths of fresh air and I slowly came back to my senses. Everything came back into focus and she was there on the ground breathing heavily, her eyes barely open and she was flushed of all color. I suddenly realized what I'd done.

"Samira." I whined getting closer to her and she instinctively backed away unsure if I was myself again or not. I gently touched her arm and came as close I could. "It's alright, it's me." She looked so upset and confused that I wanted to strangle myself because I knew it was my fault. I warned her, but I should've fought harder. I drew her close and held her. "Forgive me. I am so sorry, love."

"I know."

Then I worried her by grabbing her wounded wrist and she tried as hard as she could to hold it against her body, but she wasn't strong enough. I had taken so much out of her that it wasn't even healing yet. "It's alright." I promised, I wasn't going to bite her again. The scent hit my nose, but I had enough control over myself that it didn't tempt me. I pushed my finger against my fang making it bleed and I rubbed the blood across her wrist to speed up the healing. Once it was healed I picked her up and carried her off to find something for her to drink so she could get her strength back. I felt terrible, and the guilt was overwhelming, but I had to think about her.

Eventually we came across a village and we watched from afar as they had some kind of party. There was big bon fire in the middle and everyone danced around it shouting in a language neither of us understood. She looked on and part of me worried that by weakening her I had subjected her to the vampire's weakness that she never succumbed to. I thought I had ruined her. Surely all those people down there looked appetizing and she was begging herself to run down at them and take one. I watched her carefully, waiting for the slightest sign of struggle, waiting for her to run. But she just sat there watching them as if studying their movements.

"Strange…I do not understand the meaning of this celebration." She muttered. "There are no prisoners or dead enemies, no dead animal roasting on the fire, so there was no great hunt to celebrate. So what are they doing?"

The worry eased after hearing her say that. Obviously, no matter what happened to her she would always be the only vampire who didn't crave human blood. At least, not the living's. She drank from the dead, but even then she said the taste didn't really appeal to her. It was animal blood that she craved, but she could never bring herself to drink from anything living, even a squirrel. She couldn't bring herself to drink from a dead animal either for some reason I didn't understand, it was an Egyptian thing. Perhaps, it was because the only time in her life she ever drank human blood was because she killed someone she loved and the trauma of what she put her family through is what made her resist so easily.

"Perhaps, it's religious." I suggested. Perhaps it was something to please their gods, or whatever they worshipped.

"Perhaps." She muttered tiredly agreeing with me. I knew I had to find her food and fast. I picked her up again and ran off. There was a village, so there had to be a burial ground somewhere nearby.

Luckily I could smell a burial ground soon after, but we weren't the only ones there. I stopped suddenly when I realized there was a very large animal there growling angrily and eating something. I looked closer and realized it was a bear feasting on a dead human. Either someone left a dead body, which was unlikely, or the human attacked the bear foolishly and lost the fight. That was my guess. The wind blew by us and the scent hit Samira's nose and she shuddered. I looked at her curiously and I knew she smelled something she wanted. I knew that look, I had seen it in my own reflection. I also knew it wasn't the blood coming from that poor idiot that the bear was eating…it was coming from the bear. She'd never seen a bear before, and therefore it wasn't an animal that could be known by her gods. Next thing I knew she was running at it. I wasn't sure how this would end considering how weak she was, but she caught the black bear by surprise and leapt onto its back. I heard it wail as she bit it. I was shocked to say the least, I'd never seen her attack something like that. Her craving got the best of her just as mine had earlier.

The bear tried to fight, tried to get her off by running in circles to try and grab her with its teeth, or rolling on the ground, but she never let go. Finally she weakened it enough that it stayed on the ground and whimpered as it died. I slowly walked over to her as she came out of it and she stepped away realizing what she had done.

"Oh gods." She murmured putting her hand over her mouth with a gasp. "I – I – "

"I know." I said softly pulling her close. Apparently even an animal she'd never seen before was still a sacred life and she had taken it. To her that was a sin and she feared the gods' wrath. I only knew that because she muttered apologies to them into my chest begging them to forgive her and to not harm her. Her faith was something I could never understand.

After a while we slowly began wandering back the way we came and she was still upset with herself for what she did, and so was I. The journey was quiet as we both retreated into ourselves guiltily. Hours passed and before I knew I was getting hungry again. Except I was hungry for her blood. I knew the only way to get the craving out was to get her blood out of my system. I needed real blood. Luckily we finally wandered into a burial ground and I found someone who hadn't been dead very long. It was enough that I thanked every god in the universe, because I didn't want to relive what I had been through earlier.

(Not Godric's POV)

Letting Godric feed she wandered around the burial ground studying it as she studied everything. Other cultures were always so curious to her, she wanted to understand them. But she got so wrapped up in it and she was so focused on her own thoughts that she didn't notice there was someone nearby.

Godric was busy feeding so Calix took the opportunity to confront her as she wandered through the burial ground curiously. She'd never seen one before, so it intrigued her as everything new did. Watching her and seeing how she looked at the world was intriguing to him. She was quite a diamond in the rough, especially for a vampire. How had she held onto so much of her humanity? Love? In his opinion love was a fantasy weak minds made up to excuse their weakness. Mercy, love, it was all a weakness. Vampires were strong because they no longer felt emotions, they were free. They understood lust though, and he was quite lustful for her. She was beautiful, and feisty. He liked that.

He snuck up behind her and spun her around by the arms. She didn't scream for help even though Godric was within hearing distance. Screaming was a sign of weakness, and she didn't want him to see that. She glared back at him as she always did, with hate and distrust.

"What a woman you are." He whispered with a crooked smile. "Beyond comparison. I have never met a woman, vampire or human, to match neither your grace or charm, nor your strength. You aren't like most women who would cower down to her man, you almost seem to be the one in control of your little romance. You call me overbearing and a dog, but yet you have him so wrapped around your little finger that he comes everytime you call like a dog chasing a bitch in heat. You don't fool me."

"There is a line between manipulation and protection. I know what side I am on, what side are you on Calix? If you are doing all of this for his benefit out of some long lost brotherly affection, prove it. Show me something worth believing."

"I will show you anything you desire, for I have already seen everything you have to offer."

She didn't understand what he could mean for a slight moment. Then seeing the perverted grin she understood that he had followed them last night and saw them wrapped up in each other's arms. She flushed realizing a man like that, a man who was now coming onto her had seen her body. That was for Godric's eyes only, and now he thought he had some right to it. And having seen it he thought he had some claim as well. well, he wasn't going to blackmail her if that was his plan.

"And I must admit I was surprised. I had taken you for the domineering type to have your way with him, which you did at some point rather vigorously if I remember correctly, but for the most part it was the other way around. You bared yourself completely for him to do with you as he pleased." He said lustfully with desire sparkling in his eyes. No doubt he was dreaming it had been him she spread herself out for. Then he leaned forward to whisper in her ear, "And you enjoyed it."

He thought back to the way her body had moved with Godric's and how she had moaned and cried out, even begged for more. Just thinking about it again made him want her more. He wanted to be the one she begged for, and he would give her twice as much to cry out about. She wasn't satisfied, she was pretending out of love. She loved him and wanted to boost his ego, that's all there was to it. He knew Godric wasn't the best lover around, he never had been. He was a taker, not a giver. Appius had controlled him, used him for his own pleasure, because he knew the boy was too weak to give it in return. He was the only one to ever satisfy their master. He satisfied many women in his time as well.

"I trust him. I love him. He is the only man I will ever allow to lay a finger on me, so erase such fantasies from your thoughts for they will never happen. You disgust me."

"Hm." He mused, his hand raising up her body to her throat and gently wrapped around it squeezing lightly. "Understand something, my lovely. Godric is a boy, he never got to grow up and learn to be a man. He never had a woman before he met you. You gave yourself to an amateur, someone who cannot love someone like you properly. You deserve a man – a man with experience who knows how to please you."

"Now I know you do not know him as you claim to. He is far from a naïve little boy, Calix. He is a man, a far better one than you will ever be…in every way." Then as he did she leaned forward to whispered in his ear. "Did I sound displeased to you?" She teased. If he had really been there watching them as they made love then he would know she had been completely satisfied, because she wasn't exactly quiet that night.

Catching him off guard she pushed him off and ran back to Godric before he could advance any further.

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	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: Calix's Superiors**

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Calix finally found us and we were on our way again. After a couple days we had made it to the other coast northwest of the way we came. I always like the water, it reminded me of home. the landscape here was much like home actually, there were mountains and green everywhere I looked, and the water.

Samira had been quiet lately. I didn't know why. She was not talking to me again, and anytime I asked her what was wrong she claimed she was alright, and that was the end of it. I thought maybe she still felt guilty for the bear incident, but it seemed like there was more. Now was one of those I times I really wished I could read her mind as easily as she could read mine. I wanted to hear her thoughts, I wanted to understand her. More than anything I wanted to help her get over whatever had her so distraught. I wanted to see her smile again, hear her laugh. I also wondered if it had anything to do with Calix. Maybe she had started to hope he had abandoned us and we'd never see him again, so we could run. Then he found us and that hope shattered. So maybe she was biting her tongue to keep from saying all the nasty things about him she had always been saying knowing I wouldn't listen anyway.

We waited there by the water while Calix went off to find someone. He said this was his home, but no one was there, so he figured they had gone out hunting. I was nervous to meet more vampires I had never seen before, I never trusted strangers. I watched her as she sat atop a large rock that was just off shore, it was half in the water, half out. She was idly smelling a flower, studying it. She was also so fascinated with things she'd never seen before. That was something about her that fascinated me. She loved everything, she was still so alive even though she was dead. She took nothing for granted. It made her that much more beautiful.

While we were alone I tried yet again to get her to talk to me. I remembered the night we were together, a night like this one with a full moon on the water. The night we swam naked with each other and could no longer resist. I smiled at the memory and stripped before running into the water. She heard the splashing and it caught her attention. When I came up for air her eyes were on me curiously. I swam to the rock and stood up to cup pull her closer. I brought her face to mine and kissed her tenderly on the lips. Then I retreated back into the water. She didn't resist, and she quickly took her dress off and jumped in beside me. When she came up and I pulled her close kissing her again.

"Tell me what's wrong." I begged.

"I've done something terrible, and for that I must mourn until the gods forgive me." She explained.

The bear. But I knew that was only half of the problem. I shook my head. "There's something else. I know you feel guilty for the bear, but you couldn't help yourself, same as what I did to you. This is deeper than mourning and punishing yourself. You wouldn't seclude yourself from me otherwise. What is it? Is it Calix?"

She groaned at hearing his name proving her hatred for him.

"Are we back to that?"

Rather than answering me she ducked underwater and swam further out trying to escape. Avoiding the question was an obvious answer. I chased after her and I could see her underwater, so I grabbed her leg and pulled her back to me before she got too far. Upset that I grabbed her in such a way she quickly spun around once we were above again and shoved me away.

"Samira!" I hissed grabbing her hand. "Stop. Stop running away and I would not do that. answer the bleeding question for once."

"You already know I hate him."

"So we are back to that. You're going to avoid me so I do not have to hear you slander him?"

"You would not listen even if I did tell you. Even something this horrible."

"What?" I asked suddenly worried. What was horrible? What had he done?

She shook her head still refusing to tell me.

"Please, tell me." I pleaded trying to keep my voice soft rather than demanding. If I got too harsh she'd get angry. But the harder I pushed I also noticed the more upset she got. Soon I even noticed a tear on the corner of her eye. "Love, look at me." She obliged. "If it is something so horrible that it's bringing tears to your eyes, I have to know. Please."

"He…saw us, Godric." She whimpered putting her hand over her mouth. "He saw…"

"Saw us?" I asked uncertain of what she meant. What did he see us doing? He saw me drinking her blood? God, I hoped not.

"No, not that!" She cried. "He does not know about that."

"Then what?"

"What do all lovers do that is supposed to remain between them?" She asked sarcastically. She was angry and she spat the words at me as if I were an idiot.

Oh, I thought. He saw us in the trees that night.

"Yes, Godric, he saw that. He was following us! He spied on us, Godric!"

"Alright, calm down."

"Don't you tell me to calm down, you do not know the vile things in his mind, the vile things he had the verve to speak to me."

"I would if you would just tell me."

"He wants me!" She cried again. She was getting frustrated with me, and it was something she didn't want to talk about, so she just unloaded it to get it out.

"He came onto you?"

She nodded wiping her face of the bloody tears. But just talking about what he had done and the things he had said made it worse and she cried again. "He scares me, Godric."

"Sh…I promise you, I will not let him harm you. No man will ever touch you so long as you are with me. You're mine…I love you." I whispered into her ear very seriously so she knew I meant every word. The thought of any man laying a finger on her churned my stomach. I'd kill him. I'd die to keep her safe. "Sh…look at me…say you believe me."

She nodded as I kissed her forehead and wiped the tears away.

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you, love. You've been hearing every thought this entire time and you knew his true intentions, and I ignored that wanting to believe that I no longer had to run. But he is nothing to me, I should not care what he thinks. You are my life, my world, you are all I care about - _now_ and forever."

"Swear it."

"I swear on my life."

Finally I got to see her smile and the sobbing stopped. She trusted me and that was all that mattered. Happily she kissed me and immediately by the way she was kissing me I knew it was more than just a kiss. It was an invitation, it was desire and need. Not far from where we were swimming was the cliff. In case he came back I didn't want him to get another look at something that was for my eyes only, so I pulled her over to the cliff away from the moonlight. Once I was certain that there was no way he could be watching I backed her against the wall and slid into her. Since the water was deep and I had no foothold I had to use my arms on the rocks to thrust. As long as she was satisfied, which she was judging by her moans.

Unfortunately, it couldn't last longer. As much as I liked to take my time and relish in her love, we didn't have that kind of time. He hadn't come back yet so we swam back to shore and got dried off by the fire before getting dressed.

"Godric, he's not back yet, we could still run."

"Samira, he'd find us. We don't know where he is, or how long until he comes back. No, we have to think this out carefully, we have to have a plan. I've fooled him once, I can do it again."

She agreed, though I could tell she didn't like the fact that that meant she had to put up with him for a little longer. "Just promise me one thing." She asked in return.

I gave her a small smile and kissed her cheek. "Anything."

"When we run…kill him."

I should've killed him a long time ago. "I promise."

We waited impatiently until his return and just as he assured us he wasn't alone. a man and a woman were with him. They were older. The man looked to be about thirty, still relatively youthful but not young. He had dark brown hair that was pulled back, but it wasn't long enough to braid as we had seen the human men do to their hair. His face was smooth and stoic, he had high cheekbones and a prominent jaw. He looked strong. He also wore no shirt and his body was covered in markings, tribal tattoos, much like Calix's. They were from before he was turned. He also had one very prominent feature that made him easy to spot. He had a scar through one of his eyes from when he was human making him half blind. The eye was pure white now and eerie to look at.

His woman was oddly beautiful. She had long dark hair, barely lighter than Samira's, wavy rather than straight, and thick. Some of it was pulled over her shoulder covering one of her breasts and down to her thigh. Her dress made of hide barely covered her chest – she was well endowed – and went down to her knees. Her beauty was deceiving, just by looking at her and the way she stared I could tell she was just as menacing as her mate, or partner, whatever their relationship was.

"This is them." Calix informed them pointing to us. "Godric and his mate, Samira."

"Samira? Egyptian?"

"Yes." Calix answered when Samira refused.

The way he said Egyptian reminded me of the way the Egyptians we met had rasped the word European when they met me. There was an obvious feud going on here, and immediately I knew that these two knew who those Egyptians were and that possibly put Samira in a bad situation. I suddenly felt nervous, and I knew I had mistaken to follow Calix here.

"Godric, Samira, this is Bearcban the leader of the Celtic vampires here in Britain and his wife Doreena."

"Have you fed lately?" Bearcban asked curiously. He was trying to be polite, but something told me it was a false politeness to try and fool us.

"Yes." I answered. "We're not hungry."

"Good, then we can talk." He said and he reached his arm out gesturing to the fire. He wanted us to sit. I hesitantly obliged and pulled her down with me. Then they sat across from us. I didn't like the way they looked at us. And remembering what Samira had told me about Calix I made sure to observe the way he looked at her. I wanted to see the lust in his eyes for myself so I had proof to remind him of when I castrated him for daring to think it would ever touch her.

Doreena spoke up next. Her voice was soft and deceiving making her sound harmless. "Calix, here tells us that you were once his master's progeny as well."

"I was, yes."

"Then you killed him?" She asked trying to get me to admit it, though she sounded as if she was merely making sure she had the story straight.

I wasn't going to fall for it though, so I twisted it up a bit. "Appius died from exposure to the sun, I never touched him." I kept my eyes on Calix's while I spoke waiting for him to scowl or lunge at me for lying. But he showed no sign of being angry, rather he smirked as if my change of the story amused him. He knew I'd lie, or atleast make myself sound innocent.

They didn't press the matter further. Calix probably told them the whole story, or what he knew of it. He had no way of knowing how I tricked Appius and his fake wife into the sun, he only knew I had something to do with it.

"If you were innocent, why did you flee?" Bearcban asked.

"I knew I would be blamed. Every slave there knew what Appius did to us young men, including Calix. And since the rest of them were human most of them were glamoured. Calix was out in town, so he had an alibi. I was the obvious one to blame, but I didn't kill him."

This time I had actually come out and claimed to be innocent of his death rather than twisting my words to say I did not touch him. So this time Calix got mad, just as I wanted him to be. I wanted a reason to fight him.

"You lie." He rasped.

"You have no proof his death was anything but an accident. One of the humans could have killed him, not all of them were glamoured. Or perhaps one of his enemies, he had plenty of them."

"It was you, I know it."

"That's enough, Calix." Bearcban ordered.

"Why so angry, Calix?" I teased. "You agreed that Appius deserved his fate. Or was that a lie to lure me here to be judged by your new master?"

"I may be the authority here in this country but I have no power to sentence you for something done in Rome."

"Then why are we here?" I asked boldly. It was a little too bold, but I no longer cared. If he wasn't there to judge me, then why had Calix brought us here? Was someone else coming too? The person who could judge me for what happened, perhaps. I didn't want to stay to find out.

"You are here, because I want you here, little brother." Calix said with a satisfied grin. "You have nowhere else to go, do you? Hagan is out to get you, and everywhere you've already been he is sure to find you."

"You expect me to believe I'm here for my own safety?"

"Believe what you want, Godric."

"Hagan is known even here, Godric." Bearcban said. "He owns much of Europe like an emperor among our kind. He has many spies and you can never know who to trust."

"So how do I know to trust you?"

"You don't." Doreena said smugly before strutting away. Dawn was coming, it was time for them to go to ground. Bearcban followed his wife eagerly and Calix followed leisurely looking back at us with a smug grin proud of himself.

Once they were gone I looked to Samira knowing I had put us in a sticky situation and I had to get us out of it. Fast.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Archenemy**

**Thank you to Darkangel for still reviewing, I appreciate it. If anyone else is still reading this story, please let me know by leaving a review. **

We were held captive for weeks unable to leave the small village of vampires that we had come to live in all thanks to my idiocy in following Calix. I foolishly hoped he could be my brother, but he was still loyal to Appius even after his death, and he had been out for vengeance the whole time. I should've listened to Samira. We were kept safe in a tent tied to the post day and night, only allowed to leave to go hunting with the rest of them so it was impossible to run away. And even that was only a couple times a week, usually they brought the blood to us in a bowl and fed it to us. It was barely enough to keep us alive. They wanted to make sure we weren't strong enough to break free of our restraints. I felt bad for Samira who was being forced to drink human blood, fresh human blood. It nearly made her sick. She threw it back up the first time they fed her, right on the man that fed her. I thought it was quite funny until he became angry and smacked her a few times, then I was furious and ready to rip him to shreds.

One night, one of the worst, Calix came in. He wasn't himself, he was high on blood, and drunk on too much wine. I could see it in his eyes, he was raving mad. He looked at me and crouched down in front of me offering me a drink. I refused, I never liked wine much, it always turned men into scoundrels and women into whores. Maybe that was just Romans, but I wasn't willing to put it to the test. I turned my head away from him denying the drink and he tossed some of it on me. I still refused and he punched me in the cheek as hard as he could. I heard my jaw crack, and it hurt, but I knew it would heal soon.

Then he turned to Samira and my blood turned hot. I remembered what she had said to me and how he had come onto her. I could see it in his eyes now the way he looked at her, he was crazed and lustful. She tried scooting closer to me and curled her legs in closer to herself not wanting him to touch her. She was probably wishing she wasn't wearing such a revealing dress. Yet he laughed and offered her a drink of wine too from his leather pouch. She shook her head as well, even though she liked wine. She didn't want anything that had touched his lips, or came from him period. He only laughed at her and drank the rest of it then threw it away.

She whimpered as he leaned closer burying his nose in her neck. I growled trying to get closer to her, but I couldn't. All I could do was hold her hand and look her in the eye. That scent he was breathing in I had smelled a million times and I knew how inviting it was and how intoxicating. I just prayed he didn't bite down, or else he would know something was different about her. They'd think she was a fey, and do God knows what to her, but she wasn't.

I knew she could hear my thoughts so I asked her to stop whimpering and don't cry. "_Do not show him any weakness; he will use it against you." _

She nodded and bit her lip to keep from crying as he touched her. I struggled harder trying to get a hand free. I looked over again and he had his hands on her legs trying to pull them apart. She kicked at him angrily and he just got angry in return and slapped her across the face. I roared at him for it and he roared back putting a hand to my throat choking me.

"No!" She cried. "No, please, do what you want to me. Please! Just let him go." She begged letting the tears fall. She had tried to hold it in as I asked her to, but when he was threatening to kill me she couldn't help it. Her love for me overwhelmed her.

He punched me again, this time in the stomach and let me go returning to her. "Sh…" He whispered as if he actually cared about her. "No need for those." He added wiping away the blood from her cheeks with his thumb, which only smeared it. He hit my stomach in the right place that I automatically threw up the only blood I had in my stomach.

"Godric?" She whimpered looking to me.

"_I will be alright, love."_ I told her in my thoughts.

"Why are you with him?" Calix asked her curiously. "He's weak. One punch and he's lost his only meal for the day."

"You weakened him by feeding him only once a day!" She rasped through her teeth snarling like an angry dog. She could be intimidating if she wanted to be. I was afraid of her sometimes, but then again I knew what she could do. He didn't, and he never would as long as she didn't let her anger get the best of her.

"_Calm yourself, Samira, do not lose control of yourself."_ I reminded her. She took a deep breath for me and I was thankful she listened.

"I told you, he's weak because he's a boy. Our maker should have waited a couple years for him to grow into a man. Maybe by then he would have learned how to be obedient."

"I would never surrender to a monster who only wanted to use me for my body." I spat into the dirt. I was still crouched in a ball due to the pain in my gut.

"If you would have surrendered you may have found you enjoyed it."

"Never." I repeated.

"You are only denying it because of your lady friend here. You do not want her to believe you liked being used by men like a bitch."

"He used you too, remember."

"I let him out of the love and respect I had for my maker. And I also gave it in return."

"You can say all you want." Samira interrupted. "Say anything against him and I will still love him. He is a man, a good one, and would choose him over you no matter what."

He seemed to ponder that for a moment. Seeing him think was always unsettling, I never knew what he might come up with. Then in a flash he was beside me pulling me up off the ground. He grabbed ahold me by the tuff of my hair making me face her.

"No!" She cried again.

"Are you sure there is nothing I can say or _do_ that will change your mind?"

"Samira, do not listen to him." I told her.

"Shut it!" He ordered in a growl giving my hair a tug in warning.

"I told you I'll give you what you want, just do not hurt him."

_No, I know what he's planning to do. I'd rather him use my body which is used to torture than to watch him ruin your untainted one_. I said softly in my head, trying to calm her. I knew he was about to disgrace me in front of the woman I loved, but I would much rather him do that than rape her. It was nothing I hadn't been through before, a hundred times. She had only ever been raped once, and that was before she was turned. Her body had healed from that damage, mine hadn't.

She fought back the whine that I watched her swallow. Meanwhile, Calix positioned himself behind me and released himself from his pants. I took a deep breath awaiting the pain. It'd been over a century since I last had to go through this, and I knew it was going to be rough. I just kept my eyes on her showing none of what was feeling, though I knew she could sense it. She cried out as he grunted behind me and started moving against me. I kept a straight face as best I could.

"_Don't look at him, look at me. Keep your eyes on me. Do not give him that satisfaction of knowing he is getting to you…I love you."_

"I love you." She lipped back in between silent sobs.

She closed her eyes fighting back another whimper when he bit down into my shoulder. I felt the blood pool out onto my skin. And I could tell by her fight to keep her eyes on my own that he was staring her down.

"_It's going to be alright, love. Do not worry about me." _I told her again_. _

Eventually it finally ended and he pushed me away. He was angry that his plan hadn't worked and neither of us had given into him. He wanted her to see me as weak and worthless, but he failed. He gave up and walked out of the tent. She leaned closer to me finally allowing herself to cry.

"Godric?"

"Sh…I'm alright."

"Why could you not just let him take me and be done with it?"

"No. I promised you no man would ever harm you again, and I meant it. He can do what he wants to me, but never to you. I would not be able to live with myself if I let him have you. Plus, I was afraid that he would bite you like he did with me. One taste of your blood and he would know you were different. We cannot risk that."

She agreed with me and hung her head sobbing. I kissed her hair wishing I could wrap my arms around her to comfort her, but all I could do was kiss her face as she rested her head on my shoulder. "Sh…"

He tried yet again the next night, and the night after that. For a few nights straight he had his way with me, trying to provoke Samira, but she remained strong for me.

The day after that he didn't come to me, because apparently the guest they had been waiting for had arrived. They untied us from the posts and pulled us out into the night by the fire to wait for the guest of honor that they had never mentioned to us. I had a bad feeling about it, and I prayed it wasn't an Authority member who did have the power to punish me for what I did to Appius. However, that's who I figured it was.

We waited about an hour, in the meantime they fed us and washed us up to look presentable. Thankfully, Doreena took it upon herself to clean up Samira, so I didn't have to worry about Calix doing it, though he offered. Doreena yelled at him for being a pervert and stormed off with Samira. When she came back she assured me nothing bad had happened and I was relieved.

Finally, the guest of honor arrived and he wasn't alone. at first all we could see was a dark shape coming through the fog and darkness. He was covered in black, not even his eyes were visible. Then more shapes formed behind him, four more. When he came into the light I noticed that we couldn't see because he was wrapped in dark robes. Even his face was covered. But when he lifted his head to look to us we saw his eyes. They were yellow and fearsome. I'd seen them before.

"My lord, thank you for coming." Bearcban greeted with a bow. "I apologize for the length of your journey, but I assure you it is important."

"Well, I can see that, Bearcban." He said pointing to us. "You caught htem." He sounded pleased, and I wished I could put my finger on that voice.

"So this is them, my lord?"

"Yes, my son. I would know that girl anywhere." He said and finally took the wrap from around his face. Samira gasped in fear seeing the face beneath and I was dumbstruck. "This witch nearly killed me with an ungodly fire."

"Witch, huh?" Doreena muttered. "Well we have yet to see anything that would prove her to be extraordinary in any way."

"You are naïve then." Hagan insulted her and she became upset. She turned to her husband, but he could offer her nothing. He merely shrugged.

"Hagan…"I growled threateningly as he came closer.

"I remember you." He said with a smile as he crouched down in front of me. "You do not frighten me, young one. It's your woman I am interested in."

"You lay a finger on her…"

"What are you going to do? You are weakened by hunger, you are young, and you are restrained. I do not think you are capable of doing anything." Then he turned to her. "You, on the other hand."

"I thought you were dead." She replied not looking him in the eye. Somethng about him had always frightened her; I didn't understand what it was. She could never look him in the eye.

"So did I when you left me there to burn."

"You deserved it."

"Tell me, are you the witch I believe you to be?"

"No."

"Do not lie to me. You made those flames come to life and pull me down like a demon pulling me into hell."

"Perhaps, it _was_ a demon."

"No, it was you!"

"Master, I swear to you, we have tried to provoke her, Calix even threatened to rape her, and nothing mythical has happened."

Hearing what Bearcban just told him his eyes turned cold and he glared up at Calix like the devil himself. "You threatened to what?"

"It was just a threat." Bearcban assure dhim. "I would never let him do such a thing to her, my lord. You commanded that she be untouched.

"Did he touch you?" He asked her furiously. He was demanding to know and he would take her word for it. He hadn't raped her, it was true, but he had touched her. And right now both of us wanted to see him suffer for it.

She nodded solemnly to look more upset about it. What the actress she could be. He took her word for it and rushed to Calix. He charged after him and Calix tried to run, but he wasn't fast enough. We couldn't see what was happening but we heard Calix scream in pain for a few minutes. When Hagan returned he turned to Bearcban giving him an order. "He is to stay there until the sun rises. A little burn never killed anyone." He added with an evil grin. "If she truly is special as I think she is, and if he ruined her, I will have his life."

"Forgive me, Master, I tried – "

"Calm yourself, my son."

I suddenly realized that this was more than just an arrangement of loyalty, they were more than allies. Hagan was Bearcban's maker. Hagan had set this up. We had brought here so that Hagan could have us. Calix wasn't leading us away from him, he was leading us to him. The bastard.

"The only question is, what to do with you now." Hagan continued looking back to us. "I cannot kill you, you are far too valuable. And I cannot kill your lover for fear that you would only kill yourself afterwards to avoid a life without him. So what do I do with you?"

"My lord, there is nothing that proves what happened to you was anything by her doing. Perhaps, the gods – "

"Enough with you and your gods!" Hagan barked. "I do not fear them. There are more terrifying gods that reside in her land, and I fear them most for the creatures that they put in this world. I have seen things that you could never understand, my son."

"Then perhaps it was the Egyptian gods who attacked you for attacking one of their own people. She is a priestess, is she not, judging by the marks on her skin?"

"Yes, she was…"

"So, then may I suggest a punishment not meant to kill, but to merely weaken to brink of death. They will wish they were dead and they may lose their will to fight."

"I'm listening."

"I sentenced one of my own to imprisonment in the ground for ten years. When I brought him out he confessed everything in hopes of being rid of his suffering."

"You suggest I wait ten years for answers?"

"Do you have any other ideas? They will not divulge anything, she has done nothing when provoked with even her lover's life."

Hagan thought it over for a moment. The thought of being buried alive for ten years was frightening. Ten years of starving to death. The worst part was that I would be alone with her and the blood of hers that I craved so much. After only a week, it was hard to say if I would be able to restrain myself from draining her dry. I would kill her before the first month was over.

"Very well, but bury them in separate coffins."

Well, that took care of that problem. However, the thought of being without her touch for that long was eerie as well. At least I wouldn't kill her, I told myself. She looked at me for reassurance that we were going to alright, and I honestly couldn't bring myself to lie. I didn't know how we were going to survive this. It wasn't going to be easy. We were in for the worst decade of our lives.

REVIEW! Nice Cliffhanger, huh? Lol.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: My Goddess**

**Please REVIEW….I think this is a good chapter, I like it. I hope you do too. **

For days I banged against the coffin door trying to bust it open, but it was no use. It was wrapped in silver. I had to get to Samira, if nothing else. I didn't know where they had buried her, but I knew she wasn't beside me. I wanted to hear her voice, at least. Why couldn't they have at least done us that kindness?

For weeks I felt myself grow weak and starving. After months it felt like my body was feasting on itself and killing itself even faster. Which I was grateful for, no matter how much it hurt, I knew it would last a much shorter amount of time than it would otherwise.

The last thing I remembered before everything went black was a dream. I focused on her, she was my source of strength. Without her I had nothing to live for, without her I would just give up and die in that coffin.

The dream I had was that I was back with her and we were in Egypt again. Or at least it looked like Egypt, it could have been anywhere in Africa or western Asia, it was all sand. I had her in my arms, which was the best part, and we were free again. We were happy. It felt so real that I felt safe again, safer than I'd felt since Hagan came along and destroyed our lives. I still didn't understand his fascination with her. I mean, he obviously knew something was different, especially after that fire. But even before that, something drew him to her like a beacon. The way he looked at her proved it and it was deeper than fascination of a possible new toy to play with, it was almost desire. I knew part of me didn't want to know what that desire was, because it wasn't sexual or lustful, the way Calix wanted her. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but it wasn't good.

Another thing was that he was so protective of her. He had nearly killed Calix for even threatening to do something that he never did. Although, he wanted to, but he hadn't. I could only imagine what Hagan would have done to him if he had actually raped her. And after what she did to him – the fire – he wouldn't kill her. He wanted me dead and out of the way, but he couldn't bring himself to harm her in any lasting way. I decided when we got out of this mess, I was going to have to figure it out.

Something else that stood out in the dream was where we were standing. We were standing in the sun on a balcony of beautiful colored stone, probably granite, and watching the sunrise, or set, I wasn't quite sure which. I also took notice of what we were wearing. Samira wasn't wearing the same dress she always wore now. This was one was newer, more elegant, and obviously more expensive. Perhaps, it was merely my imagination showing me how much I wanted to provide for her, how I wished I could give her the life of a Queen and all the wonders of the world. She deserved the wealth of a goddess, to be able to hold the moon and the stars in her hands like jewels and bathe in waters of gold. I deserved nothing more than what I had, and I certainly didn't deserve her, yet she loved me anyway. I wouldn't blame her for hating me after all of this, though. Anyway, back to the dress. It was gold thread, and very flowy, very feminine like the one she wore now, except hers was old, worn yellow and green. This golden dress was sheath and draped just above her breasts, strapless on one side, flowing down to her ankles. She wore a sash of some kind around her waist, it was beaded and jeweled. She wore more jewelry than I had ever seen on a woman who wasn't royalty" a golden snake coiled up her arm with rubies for eyes, and at least two bracelets on each wrist made of gold and emerald. A necklace dangled from her neck resting just above her cleavage as if to draw attention there…it caught mine at least. It too was a gold chain with a large amulet shaped like a beetle with wings. The beetle's back was made of diamonds of different colors. Lastly, from her ears dangled ruby earrings nearly down to her shoulders. Her long black hair was held up by a gold comb accented with pearls leaving only two strands, one on each side of her face. Even her face was painted. Thin black lines were painted from her eyes and on one eye, the line turned to a curve going down over her face in swirls. Her lips were painted red making them look alive as if blood still flowed through them. She was absolutely breath taking. She looked like the goddess I wanted to treat her as.

I was even dressed in clothes I had never seen before. And I noticed there was a tattoo across my clavicle that I did not have. It looked like a beaded necklace. Rather than wearing my typical white, nearly translucent, clothes that all slaves wore, I was wearing something that even made me look royal. I had no shirt on at all, with a necklace matching hers settled at the middle of my chest. A white skirt of some kind with gold in the front and a few red stripes on each side. I looked as Egyptian as she was. It was odd.

Then she turned in my arms to look me in the eye and ask me a serious question. I knew so by the look on her face, it was calm, but her lips were in a tight line as if she were somewhat fearful of what I might answer. Her hands cupped my face lovingly and I couldn't help but lean into them wanting to feel her touch.

"Are you happy?" She asked softly. The question caught me off guard.

I sighed with a smile. It was such a ridiculous question that only she would ask in her insecurity. "Samira – "

"This was never your world, and I know this was not how you imagined your life. Do you want to stay here?"

Taking her hands from my face I kissed them on the knuckles and held htem tight. "My world is with you. And no this is not how I imagined my life, but I never imagined you either. I imagined a lonely life as an outcast hiding in the brush forever only caring about my own life. The last thing I ever expected life to give me was you."

"But this place, this lifestyle, you said it yourself, is not yours."

"It's not one I deserve, is what I meant. You deserve all this grandeur, this is what I always wished I could give you."

"If I deserve it, so do you. We are both traitors, Godric. You betrayed your maker, who in essence was your father, and I betrayed my own. I do not care how many jewels I have, or how many dresses. I cannot be happy without you, so if you are not happy with this, tell me."

"Do I look unhappy?"

"We hide our unhappiness for those we love wanting only their happiness, and you are no exception. You would tell me you were happy to please me every day for the rest of our lives even if you were on the brink of insanity. So please, tell me if you wish to leave, and we will."

"I appreciate the thought, love, but I promise you I am happy. I have a ravishing goddess by my side to call mine forever, what more do I need? Besides, we have finally come to a place where I know you are protected. We are not alone anymore, and the burden of protecting you from our enemies is lighter because they have also come to care for you, and they are also their enemies as well. It feels safe here, safer than any place we have hid in the past."

"So we are staying, then? Even with what they are asking of us?"

"They would let us stay even if you denied them. You do not have to do anything if you do not wish to. You are young yet, we both are, there is eternity left to worry about this."

"I know, I just – I feel like it's my duty. Something inside me is binding me here. Maybe it's fate that we came here, perhaps this is where I was meant to be all along, both of us were…together."

Hearing her say that warmed my heart, and I could feel the happiness wash over me even through the dream. We were together, that was all that mattered, and we were sure that we were meant to be together. This kind of love was undeniable, it was the killing kind, it consumed you until there was nothing left to claim as your own, it all belonged to her. Forever. And I was perfectly alright with that. I pulled her as closer as possible and kissed her lips and touched her face not even caring that the paint on her skin was smearing onto my hands. It could be redone. I wanted to feel that fire, that burn, and I wanted to live in it.

I picked her up and carried her inside off of the balcony and a grand room was revealed to me. We must have been in a palace, and I was sure that we had died and gone to heaven. How else had we come to live like royalty? The walls were the same color as the balcony, a dusty rose, and all along the walls were hieroglyphs depicting our story. I couldn't read the writing, but I understood the pictures. The man and woman were undoubtedly us, from the Oasis where I found her painted in bright blues and the tree I rested on in bright green. Then the hut we lived in for a time while hiding in Sinai.

Then I laid her down on the large canopy bed of silk, which felt really good under our skin. The sheets matched our clothes. The bed was big enough to fit four more people on it, but we took up as much space as we could taking advantage of it. She sprawled out beneath me allowing me access to every inch of her body as I removed her dress carefully. Now this dream was going to tease me by showing me what I missed more than anything, which was just being close to her let alone making love to her. Next thing I knew, we were both naked and I was inside her, pushing and pulling giving her everything I had. She took it happily, as she always did and sighed and gasped and moaned with every movement to let me know it.

Then it all went dark for what felt like eternity.

It wasn't until I was out of the coffin, I don't know how many years later, lying in on a blanket in a tent that I realized I was no longer buried. I came to for a couple minutes, long enough to drink a small bowlful of blood, then I was out again. I couldn't feel my body, it was dead. The process of bringing it back to life would take weeks, especially with the low diet they allowed me. They still didn't want me strong enough to pose a threat. I remember few moments like that where I was awake long enough to glance around the room and see that I was alone wondering where Samira was, then I fell back asleep. My body was in too much pain, it just wanted to shut down. I had no energy to move or speak. It hurt to even open my eyes to take that glance that lasted less than a minute.

Eventually I was able to ask the question I had been asking myself since I came back to life. "Where…is…she?" My throat felt like sand, and my voice sounded like it. It was barely audible, but Bearcban's servant, one of his vampires we had seen before, knew what I was saying.

"She's in another tent." He told me. "The women look after her, keep her safe from us men who may try to take advantage of her fragile state."

"If…you…touch…her…"

"Easy, Godric. No one is going to harm her, Hagan forbid it."

Hagan? No. Not Hagan. We had to leave. I had to get her away from him. I had to keep her safe. I suddenly tried my best to sit up, but my body would not move. It felt extremely heavy and cold as if it were made of lead. Cold metal was impossible to bend.

"You cannot leave, Godric. Neither of you are in any condition to move. Ten years you have been deprived of blood, and three weeks you have been unconscious. Bearcban thinks it will be at least another month before you can even walk."

Wonderful. We didn't have that kind of time.

"Besides, fear not, Hagan is not here. He left the day after they buried you and has come to visit only once a year since then. He was here the day we brought you up to give his orders that you remain unharmed. If anyone disobeys it shall not be pleasant."

What was he planning? Was he waiting until she was better to steal her away, and kill me himself? Why wait until I was healthy? Why not take advantage of my weakness and kill me now? The only reason I could think of was that to kill me now would be too easy, it would be almost merciful. He wanted to torture me, drag it out, make her give in to him. I couldn't let that happen. As soon as I could walk, I was carrying her out of here, no matter what it took. I could still outsmart them, and I had come up with a thousand strategies to use in those first couple years while I was awake. Vengeance and love were what kept me from going insane.

Finally, I turned back to the servant whose name I did not know. He was rather plain looking for a vampire. Perhaps, it was because he actually looked like a slave. His dark hair was matted down, short, and curly. His eyes were dark blue, almost black without the light. He had a very ordinary face, large pointed nose, small lips. He looked like the sort that would get taken advantage of, and not taken seriously. I bet he was abused, like I had been, and probably by Calix. "Show…me…" I rasped as loudly as I could but it sent me into a coughing fit. I even half expected to see sand come out of my mouth, but only rough air scraped against my already dry throat. Every inhale and exhale worsened. He cocked his head sideways unsure of what I wanted to see. I thought it would be quite obvious. "Samira…"

He shook his head. "That is not allowed."

"Please…" I wasn't fond of begging, but if it would get me to her side, I would do it. I would have done anything to see her after a decade of being forced apart. I went into another coughing fit, and he lifted me up a little to help me drink some more. The blood burned like fire on the way down, but in a good way. My stomach clenched for more. It was painful, feeling every organ in my body come back to life like rusted machinery crackling against each other trying to break free of the rust.

"Let me ask the master." He said politely and left me for a moment. I took advantage of it and rolled onto my stomach as best I could. That was the easy part compared to what came next. I had to crawl backwards out of this tent and try to get to hers. Moving my arms and legs the slightest inch felt like pushing a boulder uphill. I tried my best not to scream out in pain, but I managed to get my feet out into the moonlight that draped over the opening. I saw how translucent my skin was, like a corpse. My veins were black and protruding from my skin, I could have grabbed one and snapped it.

Then there was a shadow blocking the light from my feet. The figure bent over a peered in. It was Bearcban.

"Where, pray tell, do you think you are going?...To see your beloved?"

I gave him a cold stare letting him know how much I despised his presence.

"You may not see her right now, she has not yet come to consciousness. She is still sleeping. When she awakens and I know she is alright, I will let you see her. You have my word."

She wasn't awake yet? After three weeks? Oh god, I thought. They killed her. She was dead. Her young body wasn't strong enough to withstand the decade. Or perhaps it was her – whatever it was that made her different. She was much more fragile than they realized, and they killed her. I felt my breath leave me and I thought the blood that remained in my stomach was going to end up on the ground below me. My reason for living had left me. But I would not die. I had to fight, I had avenge her. Hagan would surely kill them all for me when he realized what they had done, the gigantic error they had made. Then I would kill him. He was the one who sentenced us to ten years of imprisonment to starve to death. I would rip him apart, drain the blood from his body, and eat the meat from his bones. I was full of hate.

_How'd you like the dream?...Now think about what Samira is, what she can do, and look at the dream again. Wink, wink. ;) Hint to the future….any guesses?_


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: Escape**

**Review…**

I felt like I had gone back in time. I was alone again, on the run, I had just killed my maker making me an outcast. I had nothing, no one. I kept closing my eyes wishing that it was just a dream, that I perhaps I was still buried in that coffin, and this was all just another dream. Every time I opened my eyes I saw the ceiling of the tent. Sometimes it was bright, proving the sun had risen for another day and I was still alive, which burned my eyes, I buried my face in the ground. Most of the time, it was dark and I could still hope that I was buried.

Every day that servant still came. I still never asked his name. I didn't care, he was going to die soon anyway. So there was no point. I would enjoy watching Hagan tear him apart until he was nothing but blood and guts splattered across this wretched land they called Britain.

All I had to hold onto was my hatred, my desire for vengeance. I would stay alive long enough to see that fulfilled, then I would let whichever deity stole her from me have my soul so that I could see her again in the afterlife.

Or so I thought. Finally, after another week or so, Bearcban returned to my tent. He shook me awake and splashed water on my face for good measure. The servant gave me some more blood to keep me awake and then picked me up. I tried to struggle not wanting to move. I wanted to lay there in misery. Yet he carried me putting up with my weak attempt to struggle. Then I noticed where he was taking me. Across the way was another tent. It was surrounded by women. As we came closer I could see naked feet identical to mine, dead looking, but smaller. Samira…They finally gave up and wanted me to see her before they destroyed her beautiful, perfect body by burning her on a pyre.

When he set me down inside I struggled to cuddle closer to her. She looked so different. She had no meat on her bones anymore, her body had eaten it all off years ago as mine had, but I was slowly starting to fill back out. I could see the bones through her skin, and every vein. I slid my arm under her head and pulled her close, then wrapped my other arm around her as well so that she was flat against me. Then the emotions took over me and Doreena saw it. She ordered everyone out and even left us alone herself, though she waited just outside.

I buried my face in the crook of her neck allowing myself to cry for what I had lost. Soon I found myself sobbing like a child turning my face red with blood. I kissed her skin once more wanting to remember how it felt against my lips, up her neck across her face and lastly to her own lips which fit perfectly against mine.

"Forgive me…" I whispered, trying to remain quiet so they could not hear my suffering. But, that suffering had turned to anger and I could no longer hold it in. I screamed it out for the gods to hear. "Gods…please forgive me!...Ah!"

I fell resting my head against her chest, wishing I could hear her heart beating.

Then something touched me making me jump. I quickly looked behind me thinking one of them was trying to take me away again, but no one was there. They were all still outside. I looked to my side and noticed her arm was up. It was her hand on my back. How was that possible, unless…

I quickly looked to her face wiping all the tears from my own in sudden hope. "Samira?"

Her eyes slowly fluttered open just a slit. She was alive. She was alive! Suddenly I felt alive again, too. The anger faded, and was replaced with love as I stared into her dark chocolate eyes that I dreamt of. I quickly pulled her close again burying my face into her neck kissing her skin.

"I thought I lost you…I thought…"

"Sh…" She managed to whisper. She tried to hug me in return, but only that one arm remained resting against my back. It was enough.

"I was…" I couldn't even finish my own thoughts as my excitement flowed through me. All I could do was stutter and kiss her skin trying to show her how happy I was to have her in my arms again, no matter the condition she was in. "I love you so much."

"Know…" was all I heard her whisper.

"Sh…do not strain yourself. It's alright, I know it hurts." I rose my head again to look her in the eyes. "Sh…I know you know. And I know you feel the same, I do not need to hear it. Tell me when you have your strength."

She nodded agreeing with me and closed her eyes again ready to rest. She was so exhausted. It would be probably another week, or two, at least before she was able to talk as I could now. Her recovery was much slower. At least she was alive. I leaned down to kiss her lips once more and I felt her try to push against me in return, but she couldn't. I soothed her hair down and caressed her skin. I couldn't keep my hands off her, I was just so relieved and in love.

"I promise you I will never fail you again. Please forgive me."

Another nod was the only answer she could give. I didn't deserve her forgiveness, but she was giving it even after she had been on death's door.

"We are going to get through this, and I will get you out of here if it's the last thing I do." I promised her as I kissed her forehead and inhaled her hair. She no longer smelled like a desert flower, but I could still imagine that she did. My memory worked perfectly.

Then Doreena was back in the entryway blocking the moon. She interrupted our time, and I knew she was going to tell me I had to leave. "The sun will be up soon."

"Please, let me stay with her."

"Godric, I promise you she is safe in here. No men allowed."

"Men are not the only ones who know how to be dogs." I stated. Women could be just as manipulative and cunning and mean. She could be abusing Samira herself for entertainment if she wanted to.

"I assure you neither I nor any of my maidservants have harmed her. We bathed her, and we feed her."

"That better be all."

"It is, now you must return to your own space and rest. I promise you can see her tomorrow night."

I was lifted off the ground and carried away back to my tent. I didn't like it, but I was still in no condition to fight. I just had to wait for tomorrow and I could hold her again.

The days came and went, then weeks. Finally after roughly two and half more weeks we had enough strength to walk together. We had guards at all times, but we were no longer corpses. We could actually move and talk. Still fairly weak, of course, due to the lack of food, but they fed us enough to revive us. I looked over at her as she walked beside me and her eyes were far away looking at the full moon over the water. She was so beautiful. Her almost golden skin had returned and it wasn't that pasty translucent cover anymore. She was still filling out, but at least I could no longer see her ribs poking out of her sides. She looked healthy. I couldn't resist and I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her to me. She looked at me smiling as I brought my lips down on hers.

She quickly pulled away remembering we weren't alone. We both looked over our shoulders to the man and the woman following us. One was my guard, one was hers. The same servants who had nursed us back to health. They turned around and gave us some privacy.

She leaned in to kiss me again, but I stopped her putting my finger to her lips. She cocked her head curiously, wondering what I was doing. The truth was that I had only been trying to make it look like we needed alone time to be loving, but really I just wanted to talk. She, of course, read my mind and the light came back on in her eyes.

Rather than saying it aloud I smiled and kissed her again to keep them from being suspicious, while my thoughts did the talking.

'_We have to get out of here.'_

She shook her head. She didn't think it was possible we were too heavily guarded.

_There has to be a way. I will not stay here. _

She merely rolled her eyes at me. As if she wanted to stay either, but we were both too weak. It was like we had started over, like the hourglasses of our lives had been flipped. We were practically newborns again.

_I outsmarted Appius, I can do it again. And with you…we can come up with something_. I told her while kissing her again as one of htem peeked to see if we were done. Then they turned back around realizing we weren't. Then I was startled as she bit me. Apparently, she thought I was being foolish.

_Samira, if we do not leave now, Hagan will come and he will take you away. Surely, by now he knows we are awake. He is someone we cannot beat. _

She may have been able to free herself from him once, but she was fully fed and there was nothing wrong with her at that time. She was too weak to try and use magic now. It probably wouldn't work. She gave me a cold stare as if I had just insulted her.

_If you think you can use it to get us out of here, prove it. Set them on fire_. I gestured to our escorts and she stared at them for a moment. Her eyes squinting as if she was concentrating really hard, but nothing was happening. Her body went rigid, every muscle in her body stiffening as they all tried. Her fingernails dug into her arms. Finally, she gave up realizing I was right. She didn't have the strength. Plus, when she used it she usually had an incentive, her life was usually on the line and it was a sudden last attempt out of fear and anger. She hadn't mastered her abilities yet. She sighed looking down at the ground in shame. I caressed her back to try and let her know it would be alright, but she seemed to think all was lost. We had no hope of getting out of here. Hagan had us where he wanted us.

_I will not give up. I will not let you down again_.

She raised her eyes to me testing me. Whenever she looked at me like that I could feel her reading down to my soul, and every lie, every emotion, everything was laid bare before her to judge. I couldn't hide anything. She seemed to believe me though.

They turned around again and realized we had finished so they escorted us back to the small village. Now that we were better, we no longer had to stay in those tents, we upgraded to our own hut. We still were not completely alone, there was another vampire couple in the other room. The same couple we had been stuck with the entire time. They had to have been getting as tired of us as we were of them.

When we returned I went to bed. I was exhausted, and I found that I thought the best in my dreams. My dreams were where I got my most ingenious and creative ideas. I dreamt how I was going to kill Appius weeks before I did it. Samira lay beside me.

(Not Godric's POV, Samira's)

After Godric had fallen asleep, I was still awake. I needed help, I needed answers. I stood and walked to the window where the full moon still sat halfway in the sky. It was setting, dawn would be rising soon, so I had little time. I got down on my knees in the moonlight staring at the moon and I did the only thing I could do – pray for a miracle.

As a woman, I always felt closer to the goddesses than the men in the heavens. And even though my mother would never have let me live the life of a priestess as I wanted, I secretly chose the goddess I would have devoted my life to. Father had been proud of my choice. Perhaps, it was the fact that I was a mother, a young mother, that drew me to her. As well as everything she did for her husband, Osiris – after he was killed by his evil brother Seth and ripped to pieces, she put him back together again and raised their son, Horus. She was a strong woman whom I admired.

"Almighty Isis, my goddess, please hear my prayer. I know I am far from our home, but I hope you can hear me nonetheless. I desperately need your help. Not only for me, but for my lover. You did everything for love, the love of your husband and brother, love of your son. All I ask is for the strength to do the same. We must leave or else I shall lose him forever. Please, goddess, give me the strength to save his life as you saved your husband."

I finished my prayer and rose from my knees. When I turned around I was startled to see someone in the shadows watching me. How had he gotten in here without my noticing? Gods, I was weak.

"Calix…"

"The sun's almost up, why are you not sleeping like everyone else?"

I didn't answer his question. I had no need to tell him anything. He didn't care, he was just talking, biding time while he stepped closer to me. I looked to Godric, but he was asleep. Even if I woke him, he wouldn't be strong enough to fight Calix off. He would be injured, possibly even killed. We all knew it was me that Hagan wanted, not Godric.

"Finally, you look like yourself again…a goddess of the night."

"You speak blasphemy…I am no goddess. And you are nothing more than a sick, diluted, half of a man."

"Oh, now that you have your tongue back, along come the insults. I should have known."

Now he stood inches from me and I was backed against the wall. I tried not to look at him, I looked towards the window where the light danced on the floor. In my mind I pictured her, Isis, and I repeated the prayer in my head screaming to her so she could hear me from Egypt which was so far away. I had to believe she would not abandon me to such barbarians.

"No one to save you this time." he whispered leaning in closer to my ear and he took a deep breath inhaling my scent. I felt his tongue on my skin and I prayed he didn't bite me. And if he was thinking it, for the gods to strike him dead before he got the taste of a single drop of my blood. Then in a flash I was on the floor beneath him and his hand was under my dress. I tried to kick at him, but I wasn't strong enough. His hand covered my mouth to keep me from screaming and waking the whole village.

Then he pulled something that changed everything. He had a stake. "See this? I will put in lover boy's heart if you do not stop."

I listened to him. It was be far too easy for him to kill Godric right now, but the question was did he have the gull to do it? Was he man enough, or was he just full of threats? After what Hagan had put him through for nearly raping me, I could only imagine what he would do if he knew he really did. And then to kill Godric on top of that. I didn't believe him. He was all talk. I kept fighting with him and he slapped me hard across the face then stood. He rushed to Godric's side by the bed and held the stake above him.

As if in slow motion I watched the stake slowly descend and I let out a harsh cry. Suddenly I felt empowered and strong. Love was my strength, not the blood that kept me alive. I tackled him to the ground and held his throat. I felt the strength flow through me and suddenly I felt warm. I felt my blood temperature rise and it was almost as if I were human again. And suddenly he looked fearful as he paused no longer fighting. They all heard me scream and Godric was sitting up on the bed having felt my fear as well, and the guards were running in from the other room, but they would be too late. I could feel the power surging through me. it was a familiar feeling, I felt it when I had caused the flames to jump and grab Hagan. But there was no fire around, so what was about to happen?

A blue glow emerged from my hand that was around his throat, blue like the deepest fire dancing across its food. When it hit his skin he cried out in pain. I felt his skin turn rough and dry and dead, it spread across his body until he was nothing more than a statue staring up at me with empty eyes.

(Godric's POV again)

"Oh my…Samira, what have you done?"

Rather than answering me she quickly leapt to her feet and took my hand. She turned to face the servants who stared at her in horror with wide eyes. I looked at her face, in her eyes in shock, and her eyes were glowing blue like her hand. Those were not her eyes. Then she spoke to them, and it was no her voice.

"You will remember none of this." She told them in Egyptian, which caught me by surprise. She rarely spoke in her language anymore. We usually spoke in my language. It was simpler. Then with a wave of her hand they were thrown backwards by some kind of force that blew through the entire room and we jumped out the window before they could get up.

I ran as fast as I could, but I was tired. She seemed to have energy to spare and suddenly I felt it pulsing through me from her hand to mine. It was an odd sensation, it was almost like the feeling I got when I drink her blood. We ran until the sun came up then we hid in the shadows. I had no idea how far we had just run, but it was a ways. I had never run so fast in my life. I looked to her again. Her eyes were moving so fast from side to side looking for possible threats.

"Samira?" I said softly trying to get her to look at me. Her eyes, I had to see into them, I had to see what was beneath them because it wasn't her. She merely looked at me and put her finger to her lips. Then she reached out with her hand putting it on my forehead and her finger drew something, I didn't know what, but I felt her tracing a design on my skin. She took my hand again with a smile and pulled me back into the sunlight. I flinched waiting for the burn, but there was none. I felt fine, I felt better than fine, I felt superhuman.

We ran until we reached a port. There was a man with a large boat and Samira led me to him. Just the sight of her frightened him enough that he didn't even ask us any questions, he merely bowed his head and motioned for us to get in. Once we were inside and on our way, she finally settled down and looked at me.

"You will be safe now." She informed me in a kind voice, and of course she was speaking Egyptian. Suddenly, I was grateful she had taught the odd language to me.

"Samira, love, what is happening?" I asked in return.

Rather than answering she merely shook her head with a slight smile. She wasn't Samira. I knew it, but I hadn't wanted to believe it, it was too preposterous.

"Who are you?"

"It matters not, you both are safe now." She answered then wiggled her finger urging me to lean closer. She kissed my cheek and whispered in my ear, "She loves you." Then suddenly her body collapsed against me and when I lifted her she was asleep. I tried to shake her awake, but nothing happened. So I laid her down and waited.

_Ooh…lol. Personally, I think it's kind of obvious what happened to her there_.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: That which is not ours**

**Review…**

The boatman had no idea where we wanted to go and frankly neither did I. He said there was an island just across the way that they called Ireland, but I had a feeling that that was where they would expect us to go. It was too close, and I wouldn't be surprised if they had friends over there. So I told him no, just keep moving along, get us away from this damned place and we will figure out something.

The day came and went, meanwhile I hid with Samira under the deck where all the supplies were stored, just as we had back when we escaped Egypt when the Romans invaded. This was the second time she snuck us on a boat using her gifts, whatever they were. Though, this time was different, because it hadn't actually been her. It was like something had possessed her. And what was the point in telling me "She loves you" just before she passed out? Why tell me something I already knew?

When I woke up the next night, Samira was no longer in my arms. I looked around but I couldn't see her. My instincts came to me and I quickly rushed up onto the deck and thankfully, she was standing there talking to the boatman. She seemed to do all the talking, he just nodded his understanding. She was giving him orders. I slowly walked over watching her, studying the way she was moving, the way she spoke, her eyes. Whatever had possessed her was gone now, she was herself again. But was it only temporary?

"Samira?" I said softly as I approached her. She turned away from the boatman to look at me with a small smile happy to see me. Then she wrapped her arms around me.

"I'm alright." She assured me knowing what I was going to say and how worried I had been. "She's gone."

"She? She who?" I stammered.

"Isis." She whispered. I had never heard the name. I had not the faintest who she was talking about, but I figured she was an Egyptian goddess or something to do with her religion. "She answered my prayer."

So she was a goddess.

"How is that possible?"

She shook her head lightly. "I do not know." She whispered. "The gods are not allowed to leave Egypt, that is their sole domain. Yet she came."

"Are you sure it was her, and not some…" How did I want to put this so as not to offend her religion and therefore offend her because she took it so seriously. "Something evil?"

"We are safe are we not?"

"No, we are on a boat in the middle of nowhere, with no clues as to where we should go. Every land anywhere near here is Roman land, unsafe."

"Sir?" The boatman spoke up catching my attention. I didn't like him butting in, but I knew Samira would get mad at me if I lost my temper. "That's not entirely true. I have smuggled many of my people across the water to go around the Romans. There is a place still out of their grasp."

"That's not possible."

"Godric, he is not lying. That is what I came up here to talk to him about. She told me of the same place. I saw images in my head, like map, I know where we have to go to be safe."

"Forgive me love, but I will not put my faith in something I have never seen before."

"She saved our lives. She rescued me from Calix and had she not intervened when she did he would have driven a stake through your heart and I would be alone. Would you rather that have happened?"

I sighed. I knew she was going to ask that question. I was happy I was alive, I was. The last thing I wanted was for her to be alone, especially with only Calix to do as he pleased. We were both in no condition to fight them ourselves, so whoever she was I was thankful for her intervention, but I couldn't get rid of the feeling in my gut that it was not what she thought.

I took her in my arms to reassure her that I was happy. She was alright and she was with me, that was all I wanted.

"I love you." She told me not even looking up at me. "I had to save you."

"I know." I whispered kissing her hair. The truth was I probably would have accepted any help too in order to save her, if I knew how. Perhaps, I was overreacting. I just didn't understand that world, and its intensity frightened me a little bit. Gods weren't supposed to be real, they were supposed to be fairytales people told themselves to make life seem worth living no matter how bad it was. "And I love you…forgive me for not being able to get you out of there."

"You would have tried, love, I know that." She said raising her head to look me in the eye. Her hand came to my cheek, her thumb rested on my lips. "But it's in the past now. It's nothing more than a bad memory."

Then suddenly I realized how hungry I was. We needed blood, and soon. We were still too weak, we needed to fill our stomachs for the first time in ten years. I turned to the boatman. "Is there a way we could make a stop?"

"You wish to stop? What if they catch you?"

"They have no way of knowing where we are, they probably think we went the other way towards that island. It will be quick, I swear, we need food. Unless you wish – "

The fear lit in his eyes. He didn't want to die. "No, no I will stop."

Samira gave me a harsh look for threatening the man, but what else was I supposed to do? She just shook her head at me and turned away to go back down below. I stayed up there with the boatman waiting for us to come to port so we could go hunt. The only problem was we had no idea how long we were going to be on this boat, so we would have to take something with us. And nothing dead would preserve that long. Samira wasn't going to be pleased when I told her we had to take something living with us, probably more than a couple. And she would have to have the thing that she craved, but hated herself for harming. She needed animal blood, I had the feeling that would restore her strength much faster than humans' would. Her body craved it for a reason.

When he pulled the boat up to shore in a very secluded place, I felt it was the best spot to stop. Hopefully no one was around. Samira was about to have abed night and I didn't want it getting any worse. I had already told her what we had to do and she refused. Even as we walked down onto the shore she crossed her arms like a pouting child and gave me an evil stare as if I were the enemy.

"Would you stop looking at me like that? We have no choice."

"Yes, we do."

"Not if we want to live." I pointed out as I started walking into the woods. She was right behind me, though she stayed far enough behind to rub in the fact that she wanted nothing to do with me right now. It was odd really. She just saved my life for love, and now she hated me. "If they catch us we need our strength to fight. Dead blood will not be enough, we need the real thing. And you need what your body is telling you it wants, which is animal blood. I understand your religious problems with that notion, but it's either that or be a murderer like me. Which would your gods prefer?"

"You are not a murderer."

"Yes, I am." I sighed. She had seen it, she watched me kill. And unfortunately, I had enjoyed it. It was nature, instinct, I couldn't help myself. And now I had to do it again.

"You do not have to be."

"Samira, please. I know that, you think I want to be evil? A monster? No, I wish I could live so strongly on your code of honor, but I cannot. Especially now when I'm starving."

"You do not understand." She sighed. "You could never understand."

It hurt when she said stuff like that. I tried to understand her, her way of thinking, her religion, everything. We were from two completely different worlds, and I wanted to understand it as much as I could, but she made it very difficult. "Just because I am not Egyptian, and certainly not a priest, does not mean I will never understand. I want to, love, I really do. I do not want to make you do these things that make you go against your code, because I respect it, but we have no choice. When will you understand that? I am not trying to ruin you, I am trying to protect you!"

"The goddess will protect me."

"She's gone, Samira. She answered your prayer and here we are. She cannot help us anymore than she already has. If she could she would not have left."

I sighed as I stared at her a moment and she didn't say anything. She only stared at the ground looking like a child who'd just been scolded and she wanted to cry. I was losing my patience and my temper with her which I never meant to do, but this was important. I couldn't risk it. But when I tried to take her hands she jerked her body away not wanting me to touch her.

"Love, please, do not do this."

"Then do not make me act like a monster." She whispered looking me in the eye for the first time. They were red, ready to spill tears.

"This is what we are, you have to make peace with that. I have done it your way for this long, feeding off only the dead, and being as human as possible, but this is a dire situation. I promise you, just this once. Once I know we are safe and you are no longer in danger of Hagan, I will never ask this of you again."

She looked away again and I noticed something in her eyes. She was hiding from me. She quickly wiped away the tears before they could fall and sniffled. "I'm afraid." I heard very faintly. "I cannot do it. As you said it is what my body craves, if I give into it, it will increase tenfold."

"Look at me." I begged cupping her face in my hands. "Your goddess helped you, that proves she knows of our situation. She will forgive you for doing what is necessary to save our lives. Do not fear them. And do not fear yourself. I will not let you lose yourself, I promise you. I will not let it consume you. It's just this once."

"But to regain the strength we need it will take more than one feeding, Godric. Stopping with the bear…it was nearly impossible. Now this…I will lose myself in it."

"No." I whispered shaking my head. "Not so long as I'm right here."

It wasn't easy but I got her to go hunting with me. She knew she didn't have a choice, but that didn't make it right in her eyes. She prayed first and begged for forgiveness for what she was about to do, and of course asked how she could make it up to her gods later. Then she stiffened and I became worried that the goddess had come back. Her eyes flashed blue again, but only for a small moment. I asked her what was wrong a few times and she never answered. She just kept staring blankly forward as if she were dead. Then it stopped, and she blinked a few times coming back to reality.

"Samira?" I asked staring down at her intently. "Samira?"

"I'm alright." She assured me, though she didn't look at me. She was still looking forward. She hadn't moved.

"What was that?"

"Killing that which does not belong to us is not treacherous." She said solemnly. Then finally she turned her eyes to look at me. "That's what she told me."

We were not in Egypt. Samira would be killing animals belonging to another land. She was forbidden from killing animals that were Egyptian. Here in Briton she had no worries of killing something that the gods deemed theirs. Even the people. That was reassuring, I didn't have to worry about her. Yet I knew she would still feel guilty for killing, she always would.

I helped her to her feet and caressed her face for a moment until I knew she was alright. She seemed so far away, lost in her mind. I thought perhaps Isis was still there. But Samira leaned into me and hugged me with her face against my chest. Somehow I knew she was just afraid to move. She was just prolonging the moment so that she wouldn't have to go hunt.

"Love, we have to go."

"I know." She whimpered and I knew she was crying silently trying to keep herself under some control.

As much as I liked the attention, I had to pry her off. We were running out of time. We should've already fed by now. So I took her hand in mine and gently pulled her along. It wasn't long before we came across the scent of some animals. Deer. Samira froze when the scent hit her nose, and I knew that look in her eyes. The hunger. Together we tracked it and found two stags fighting over territory, their antlers made sounds of thunder as they cracked at each other and at the trees around them.

"You get one and I'll hold the other one for you."

She didn't like it, but she nodded slowly and I waited for her to move. It took her a moment, but she finally jumped to her feet and in a second she had tackled the larger of the two and I quickly roped the other one. Before she bit it, she made sure its death was quick by breaking its neck and then she started feeding rather than making it suffer. When she was done she looked crazed. She was high on all the blood. Her body was no longer used to being so full that it effected her more. I knew I would be the same.

"Here." I said handing her the rope that held the other stag, which had stopped fighting. "Take this back to the boat, I'll be there soon."

"You are not going out there alone."

"There's a village close by, I can smell them. This is their hunting grounds."

The truth was I didn't want her to have to watch me kill again. She saw it once and it nearly made her hate me. I didn't want that. I didn't like who I was when I killed because I enjoyed it. She had an iron constitution that I didn't have. To her it just tasted good, she didn't enjoy it.

"I could never hate you." She assured me.

"Maybe not, but you can hate my actions which is bad enough. Go. I'll be fine."

She listened and started walking the stag back to the boat. I wasn't surprised when I noticed that she had started petting it and singing to it to keep it calm. How was she still so human? So emotional? Typically, even the most caring person when turned into a vampire gives in to the temptation and accepts the nature of what we are, but she acted like it wasn't even there. I wished I could, for her sake. For all I knew, one day I could lose myself and what would she do then? What if I lost this battle?

I thought about it long and hard as I stalked my way to the village. They were all sleeping, which made it that much easier. I snuck into one of their huts and pulled one out before he even knew he'd moved and bit him. I covered his mouth so he couldn't scream and wake everybody. Then he was silent, and still. Then there was no more blood. The high wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I wasn't full yet either. One human wasn't going to get it done. My appetite couldn't be sated that easily, not like hers. That deer would last her until tomorrow night, and maybe even the night after. I had to kill at least one more human tonight, then take some with me to feed on for the next couple days.

When I returned, the boatman was anxious and he pushed the boat off shore the second I stepped foot inside. He knew we'd wasted too much time. And he tried to ignore the fact that I had guests.

Samira was down in storage with her deer and I noticed she had gone out and caught another. She had them both calm and sleeping while she pet them. Then I came down with six humans and she stood up quickly.

"Godric?"

"We cannot afford to make a stop every night, Samira."

"I know, but – so many?"

I ordered them to stay put and tied them together then walked over to her. "You are one of a kind, love."

I knew she'd react like this. She hated the thought just as much as if she had seen it. She was trying very hard not to judge me and be upset. Then to my surprise she kissed me lightly. "I forgive you."


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: Side Effects**

**Roughly 29 AD, four years later.**

A few years after our escape from the Celts, we found ourselves in Northern Germania safely out of the grips of any of our enemies. For the first time in a long time we had finally started to feel somewhat safe again. Of course, I never felt perfectly safe and I never let my guard down.

We had built a hut out in the middle of nowhere, away from all civilization and I returned to my diet of dead people, but Samira had become addicted to the animal blood. Her cravings only got worse and she was feeding a lot more. I really couldn't complain that much because it made her stronger. Stronger than me, even. If I had fed my body what it wanted, and fed off the living then maybe not. At the same time, though, her being stronger also meant whatever was inside her was stronger. Her magic, since being on that diet, had gone viral. Before it was subtle, only spouting every now and then when it was matters of life and death, now it was coming out in fits every day, and every night, especially when was sleeping. She had nightmares every time she closed her eyes and they were bad enough to send her into spasms and to scream as if someone was torturing her. I tried to wake her, but it never worked. All I could do was watch as she thrashed on the bed.

Tonight was no different. It was getting to the point that I could hardly even fall asleep out of fear of knowing what was going to happen. I could only lay beside her and stare at her as she slept until the tiredness overtook me and then it seemed like I was only asleep for five minutes and I was awake again with her screaming in my ear.

I opened my eyes again hearing her start to moan and the bed start to shake as she thrashed. If I didn't know any better it would seem like she were being made love to, but those moans weren't the same. To anyone else they may sound like it, but I knew the difference. These were whimpers. I pulled her close to try and keep her from flailing like a fish out of water and tried to wake her up.

"Samira…Samira!" I said her name over and over again getting louder each time I said it until I was yelling it to try and get her to hear me over her own cries.

Tears of blood stained her cheeks as they poured down and wiped them away, even though it was pointless because more kept coming.

Finally after about half an hour, though it felt like much longer, she jerked and her eyes opened. She sat up quickly with a start and looked to be in complete horror. Then the fear of what was happening to her overtook her and she started crying again and fell against me burying her face in my chest.

It was hard to be the strong one in those moments. After watching her go through that it was hard to not break down and cry for her out of fear and worry. I felt useless and helpless, which I never felt. It was frightening to know this was something I could not understand let alone help her with.

"Sh…"

"What's happening to me?"

"I wish I knew."

It wouldn't have been so bad if I knew that it was just the visions that were causing her to cry. If whatever she were dreaming were bad and that was what was upsetting her, but it wasn't. She was in pain. She remembered the pain, even though it stopped once she woke up and there was nothing as if the pain was never there. She described it as a current going through her body from head to toe, like electricity jolting every nerve. But it was more than that because it wasn't just the nerves in her skin that felt it, it was every bone, every organ.

And as for the dreams she hardly ever spoke of them. Some she said were even pleasant, but the pain was too much to enjoy it. Either way the dreams didn't really bother me. She'd always had them, though never that many. They had been only in dire situations that she suddenly had a warning and we knew to run away. Now she was having the same ones over and over again. She said she'd have one one night, then the next night the same one only it'd last a little longer and she'd see more, then the next night even more, until she saw everything she needed to see. But she didn't understand what she needed to see - what the point was.

"What did you see?" I asked curiously, though I doubted she would tell me.

"Fire…there was fire everywhere. I – I could feel it on me. And there were dead bodies all around, some burned, some not. I could hear their screams…"

"It's alright, love. It's alright. It was just a dream."

"I wish that were true."

So did I. No matter how much I said it didn't make it true. We knew better. Her dreams usually had an odd way of coming true.

"You haven't seen Hagan, have you? Or the others?" I asked with concern. Nothing else she had dreamed so far seemed relevant to what was going on now, so I didn't worry about them. I was only worried about them finding us again. If she did see them then I would know they were close and we would have to run.

But she shook her head against my chest whimpering.

"Then we are safe." I exhaled feeling somewhat relieved.

"I'm scared." She whimpered into my ear as she hugged me tighter around the neck afraid to let go.

"Sh…I have you. As long as I have you there is nothing to be afraid of." I assured her. I'd die before I let anything happen to her. The thought alone of someone harming her was enough to make me want to kill. I'd hold her forever if I had to just to keep her safe.

"It's not me I'm worried about."

"I will not leave you."

"Not on your own accord."

"Look at me." I said taking her face in my hands seriously. "Nothing can take me away from you. Neither of us is ever going to be alone again. I promise."

She shook her head only crying more as if she knew something I didn't, but she wouldn't say anything. She only buried her face in my chest sobbing. All I could do was hold her and wait it out. I wanted to ask if she had seen something in one of her dreams, but I couldn't put her through that if the answer was yes. Telling me would only make her relive it and it wouldn't help any. So I just pushed it aside deciding not to worry about my future. The way she was speaking sounded like there wasn't much of one, but I couldn't believe that. I would fight death itself if I had to. She needed me, she needed someone to protect her, to love her, and I wasn't going to step down and hand that duty to someone else. However, if I had no other choice in the end there was only one person I could think of who might've been able to keep her safe and at least teach her about what she was.

I didn't like it – I didn't want to trust them, but if she had seen my death, my hands were tied. Who knew how long I had left.

"I think it's time I took you home." I whispered.

"What?" She whispered in surprise. Her head lifted to look at me. She looked worried, as if suddenly I may be ill.

"There are people there who can help you."

"But you said – "

"I know what I said." I sighed. "Samira, this is getting worse. There is nothing I can do for you regarding this. They can."

"What if Hagan is waiting for us to go that way? Nowhere we have been before is safe, remember?" Yes, of course, I remembered saying that, and now I regretted it. Why must everything I tell her come back to bite me in the ass down the road? "They could get us before we even reach Egypt and we would be on our own to defeat him."

"Your goddess saved you before, why would she not do it again?"

"That is not how they conduct themselves…you do not understand." She said lowly stepping away from me. She got off the bed and walked away wiping her face off.

"Then explain it to me."

"The only reason she helped me was to save _your_ life." She reminded me. I knew the story by now, she had told me more than once of how the goddess Hathor had found all the parts of her husband's body after his brother ripped him apart in order to put him back together. She did all she could to save her husband and that was why she helped Samira save me. She recognized the love she had for me. "She did not do it because my life is something special. And being given such a blessing is rare, let alone an intervention. I doubt it will ever happen again. If they liked to save people, no one would be unhappy. They were not there when I attacked my family, they were not there when my family was wrongly accused and put out on the streets like criminals, they were not there when I was turned…"

Rather than letting her go on and on, which she could have done all day long, I got up and took her hands pulling her back to me. "Calm down. I did not mean to upset you." I whispered tucking her tangled hair back behind her ear. "My only thought is to protect you. That is all I ever think about."

"But we are putting ourselves at risk by leaving. We have been here for years, we are safe, and we finally feel like we have a home again. Do you really want to give that up?"

"If it means doing the right thing by you."

"Godric, stop saying that." She demanded somewhat harshly snarling down at the floor rather than my face. "For once, please, stop thinking about what is best for me. What about what is best for both of us, or you even. What do _you _want?"

Taking her hands in mine more firmly I looked her in the eye sincerely. "Samira, I have what I want. You think I care about walls or a bed? For over half a century I lived like an animal in the woods wandering from place to place, living on the dying from Roman battlefields. All I want, all I need is what I have in my hands. I will not risk losing that, it will kill me. And I would kill myself if I did nothing to prevent it. I know the risks of crossing Roman territory to get to Egypt, but I have done it before."

She shrugged. I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was having a hard time with this. She just didn't want to believe it was as bad as I said it was, even though she was the one in pain. Probably because she knew if she admitted it was that bad then I would only get worse. She was trying to keep me as calm as possible."Perhaps this is only temporary. What if it is merely a side effect? I could go back to the old diet." Though it was true that her new diet had made this worse and had made her powers go into a sudden growth spurt, it wasn't the blame. It only sped up the process that would have happened eventually anyway.

Shaking my head I asked in concern, "What if this is just the beginning? Samira, what if it gets worse? Do not ask me to bear that. They warned us this might happen, and I walked away thinking I could take care of you. I was wrong. If they can help you as they claimed, then I will listen."

"What if they cannot?"

"We will cross that bridge when we get to it." I knew it was beating around the bush to say that, but honestly I didn't have an answer at that point. And she knew it. But she let it go. "For now, just come back to bed." I pulled her down to the bed and laid down with her holding her tight wanting her to feel safe.

It actually didn't take too long for her to fall asleep again. She looked rather exhausted. In the morning I would try again to get her to go with me back to Egypt to find the so-called Authority we met there a while back. Bastian claimed he could help her, I was desperate to find out if that was true.

Surprisingly we were able to sleep the rest of the day without her being woken up by anymore dreams.

In the morning I woke up realizing she wasn't in front of me and I panicked sitting up quickly to scan the room. When I didn't see her, I rushed to the window opening it, letting in the moonlight and peeked out. Still no sign of her, but I could smell her she was at least close by. I ran out the door and ran around back. I followed her scent to the trees and stopped at the one that had a dead man lying under it. I looked up and there she was, though it didn't look like her. What I saw wasn't even human. It was orange with black stripes, big green eyes like a snake, and sharp teeth. She had shifted.

"What are you doing?" I asked softly trying not to sound upset that she ran off without telling me.

Rather than changing back to answer me, she groaned and rested her head down on her paws. She seemed upset with herself. I looked down at the dead man again and judging by how pale he was it was safe to say he had already been dead by the time she got to him. So apparently this was her trying to live up to her word that she would go back to the old diet of dead people and leave the animals alone in hopes that it would at least slow down the magical growth spurt.

"Are you going to stay like that?"

I never realized until then that a giant cat could shrug their shoulders.

"Do not act like this. He was already dead, was he not? What is the problem?"

Apparently the fact that I had to ask was bad in and of itself, as she growled while her eyes moved down to glare at me.

"Love, i am in no position to tell you how to live. So please make the decision and stand by it. Dead people or animals, which is it?"

Finally she changed back huddling the tree branch with both legs wrapped around it as if she were holding on for her life. "It's not what I've done that upsets me, Godric. I understand that I have to choose and I choose the dead just as I did before, but with every drink I take the worse it gets. I only want it more."

Feeding her body the human blood only made it crave the animal blood that much more. I knew the feeling. I had had that problem when she first started me on that diet. Only it was warm human blood that I craved and not animal. "It will get easier." I told her. It would never go away, that tingle in the back of her throat would always be there, but it would get easier to ignore it in time. She just had to stay committed to it. Luckily, I had learned to control it long enough that I was able to still control myself when I fed on humans on that boat ride over here from Britain. She would eventually gain that control too.

"I want to stay off it. Not just because of the effects, but because if we really are going back to Egypt then I have no other choice. Feeding on the animals would incur the gods' wrath."

_That which is not ours is acceptable_. That's what they had told her. Anything that did belong to them, living anyway, was off limits.

"If you fear your cravings so much, why not try from dead animals?"

She shook her head. "The effects would still be there most likely. I do not wish to risk it."

"Well, then come down and we will get on our way."

She held out her hand and I helped her climb down. I ignored the fact that she was bare before my eyes and in such a vulnerable state it would be easy to get her to let me in. She would only hate me for it later. It was still tempting though. She wrapped her arms around herself to cover her breasts which were perky from the cold. Every goose bump on her body was erect. I held her close and led her back to the hut where she had clothes waiting for her. Once she was dressed and ready to go we packed the horses and were on our way.

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	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25: Tali**

**Please Review! I want to know how many people are actually reading this!**

Surprisingly we had no problems getting to Egypt. Apparently, I was just as good a sneak as I ever was. The Romans never knew we were there, except for the occasional missing dead soldier. But that could be a number of things known to the living, like a twisted necrophiliac, or a hungry animal. And I was able to get Samira to stick to the diet she had forced on me. It felt strange forcing it back on her, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Her reserve was hard as steel. She was the epitome of the saying, "Where there's a will, there's a way." She definitely had the will to get back to her old way of life in order to keep from attacking any animals when we got back to her home.

It wasn't until we reached Egypt that we ran into problems. The border seemed normal until we crossed it then we were confront by a man and a woman who were obviously not human. Even if they could walk in the sun. The woman we had seen before. Her curly dark hair was pinned to her head to keep it out of her face, and she was dressed much more glamorously than last we saw her. Her dress was a very clean white with gold along the borders of her sleeves and collar, as well as around her waist in a wavy design. Adorned on her chest was a thick golden necklace, it looked like an emblem of some kind. Someone's crest, probably. However, I knew Samira's crest, she wore a necklace like that at all times for her family, but it didn't look like that. Just to be sure I glanced over. Samira's family emblem that her father gave her when she came of age was an Egyptian symbol for a falcon, I think it was – she had told me once a long time ago, and throne. She had said the throne didn't mean royalty, it was because they served the throne and were once favored among the royals. Her ancestor was a royal scribe and every son after him followed in his footsteps until their disgrace.

Tali's necklace had three symbols instead of two. The first was the eye of Ra, then a throne, and the sun. It was interesting and made me think.

"Tali." Samira gasped seeing her daughter again. Last time we saw her she nearly died and ran away crying in disbelief as if she were in a nightmare.

"Hello, mother." She said less vindictively than I had expected. She sounded sincere.

"What are you doing here?"

"Samira, do not tell me you have not noticed." I interrupted looking the girl up and down. She looked older than her mother, but she was still a girl in comparison. I thought back to the night we saw her at the funeral and I realized I had noticed it then, but I didn't want to believe it because that burden on Samira knowing the daughter she left behind to protect had been turned into the same _thing_ she had been would kill her.

"No." She muttered a few times. If only saying it enough actually made one believe it, however it didn't work that way. That would be too easy. "It's not possible."

"I apologize for my behavior when you met me." Tali announced looking to the both of us. Her apology was to me as well. "I had to act that way or else you would have known something was…strange."

"Like you being dead." I stated blatantly not caring if it was rude. After what she had put her mother through, I didn't care about being rude to this girl. It was cruel to act that way if it was only an act. She should have told the truth. Samira cried for days having finally seen her daughter again only to lose her. "Do you realize the damage your little act caused?"

"Godric – " Samira tried to stop me, but it was too late. I was in that mode of thinking where all I could think about was defending her.

"Your mother cried for over a week until there was nothing left knowing the daughter she loved and left behind had seen her as a monster. What were you thinking?"

"Godric, please."

"That was exactly my thought process." Tali said in her defense. "For a long time I thought I hated my mother for leaving me when I was so young, but after I had been turned I realized why she did it. She was trying to protect me from what she was. I almost killed my cousin the night it happened. So I know how she felt after having almost killed us. I could not lay the burden of knowing her sacrifice was in vain, I became what she is anyway, on my mother."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"Godric!"

"She is an actress, Samira! Look how she fooled us last time. I will be damned if I fall for it again." I glared heavily at her to get my point across, I did not trust her. Samira's daughter or not, she was not like her mother. Perhaps, she had more of her father in her. he was the cunning sort by the sound of it. After all he used Samira to get what he wanted, then left before she even knew she was with child. If I ever met the man I would kill him, but he was most likely long dead by now.

Samira ignored my outburst not wanting to deal with my temper, and turned back to Tali in concern for her daughter. After all these years when she was only really a mother for a short year, she still had that instinct flowing through her. "Who did this to you?"

"You would not believe me if I told you."

"But you wanted her to know."I added. "You came to me years ago and admitted to me you were one of us, a vampire. You said you would come back, but you never did."

"That was not real, Godric. That was an illusion, a dream. I was turned years before Uncle's death."

"Then tell us." I insisted.

"I told you, you would not believe me."

"I can believe a lot nowadays." Samira said taking her daughter's hand. She led Tali over to the small tent where Tali and her friend had been sleeping that night. Apparently, Bastian had sent her. The necklace on her neck, was the emblem of the Authority. She belonged to them now and Bastian had had a vision that we were coming and sent those two to come get us. However, that was for later, for now she had to tell her mother what happened to her.

"The day I became twenty years old, the last birthday I had with grandfather he sacrificed nearly every deben worth to provide me with a good day full of everything I could ever hope for at the temple of Ra. He had to pay the priests so they would let us in knowing they could lose everything if we were found. While we were eating these men came inside. The priests greeted them and I heard only one word, Medjhai. There were three of them, a leader and his two escorts. They looked like soldiers, but the leader was dressed like he had far too much wealth to be a soldier, even a General. He said they had only come to pay homage to the god in hopes of a prosperous victory, and the priests let them in. After they prayed, he came over to us to be friendly and introduced himself. He said his name was Baraka. However, grandfather and uncle seemed…something was wrong when they saw him. Grandfather asked if they had ever met before, and he assured us no. Then they joined us for dinner and they were friendly, but I could still see that grandfather did not believe them. He knew him, and did not like him. I had never seen grandfather look at a man like that before. He was always so friendly."

I watched Samira's reaction. The look on her face told me she was thinking. But she didn't have to think very hard, she already knew the answer, and Tali noticed.

"You know…"

"What did he look like?"

"Samira?" I asked confused.

"There is only one man my father would hold such a grudge for. My father was the most forgiving man I knew, he never held his anger, he always spoke his peace and that was the end of it. Except for that one time, that one man who - in my father's eyes – ruined my life making me even more of an outcast than we already were by running away."

"Tali's father?"

Samira nodded. "He lied to you, didn't he? He told you his name was Baraka, but it was your father?"

"You are not surprised?"

"I used to wonder if he would ever find you. I used to pray that he would come back and be happy to see his daughter and he would not run away again. I wanted father to forgive him, after all having a child is not something a person can do alone. Papa acted like he raped me. And if he ever came back and we married, it would salvage my reputation. People would no longer call me a whore."

"Well, it took him twenty years, but he came back Momma. And it was not until the end of the party that he pulled me aside to tell me the truth. He confronted grandfather and asked if he was truly the Amenthes, the father of Samira, and if I was Samira's daughter. When he asked that grandfather realized he had been right, and called him a liar among other things. He finally admitted to me that he was my father and he apologized for leaving. Had he known it was possible that you were with child he would not have left."

"Possible?" I asked catching that one word. "How would it not be possible? Did he believe Samira to be barren?"

"Tali?" Samira added in concern.

"Momma, father was already one of us when you found him. The battle he told you he fought in was real, but he was not there. The truth was that he had been fighting other vampires."

How was that possible? Vampires were unable to have children, we were dead.

"Father is a gifted one, like mother and I. He, too, lives with Bastian and Dorothea at the Palace."

"Then why did I not see him when we there last?" Samira asked.

"He was with me. We knew you were there and we did not want to burden you, we thought it best you did not know yet since Bastian knew you would refuse the offer to stay. However, now we know you have come to reconsider so I am telling you."

"Had you told me before, I would have stayed."

"You were not ready for that. Besides, this was not your test." She added turning her eyes to me.

"Me? Why must I be tested?"

"You cannot honestly say, even if I had told mother the truth, you would have let her stay. You still would not have trusted Bastian enough to let him near her. You had to realize in your own time that Momma needs this, just as Father knew I would need it."

However, now that I knew Samira's old lover was involved in this…I no longer felt so certain to go along with the plan. I was not jealous…much. The thought of being near him for any amount of time knowing how much Samira had loved him, and he her was sickening. And how would she handle seeing him again after all this time? Would she fall in love with him again?

"Godric." She whispered interrupting my thoughts. "I would not do that to you. You know where my heart stands."

"But will he?"

"I told him that mother had a new lover, one who made her happy. He will not interfere."

Samira looked to me waiting for me to make my decision. She knew I didn't like it, but we had come all t his way and to turn back now would be dangerous. Beyond that, if I forced her all this way just to run away she would hold it against me. I couldn't do that. We had come here for a reason, I just had to remember that and stay focused. I looked to her and nodded with a sigh knowing my decision had already been made. "Alright, we will meet with Bastian."

Samira gave me a small appreciative smile that I was swallowing my pride. She knew how hard it was for me to do that. I had always been a proud person, like my brother and father. It had driven mother crazy. I had gotten beaten for it more than once, so did Crixus.

Tali seemed pleased and looked to her companion. I cleared my throat staring at him as well. Tali had failed to tell us who this was, and he hadn't introduced himself. He just sat there silently looking bored while Tali told her story.

She noticed and quickly corrected herself by introducing her friend. "This is Moiris. He's a soldier under father's command sent to guard me." He certainly looked like a soldier. He was dressed in all black, long sleeved, flowing cotton and sandals on his feet. On his hip was a sword tied to him. I noticed that Moiris was human. Interesting, I thought. Why would a group of very old, and powerful vampires want humans as bodyguards? To keep out suspicions? Or to keep up their morale that they were not harmful to the humans?

"He sounds very fatherly." I muttered. I hadn't realized I said it aloud until I noticed the looks I was getting from both women. I knew it was wrong to say, it showed my jealousy, but I didn't care.

They ignored me and went back to each other. However, rather than continuing their conversation Tlai stood and Samira followed.

"I think it time we leave." Tali said and Samira nodded in agreement.

We arrived around dark and Tali led us through the long maze of corridors yet again. I had been through there before, but it still felt like I hadn't, nothing looked familiar. Tali seemed to know it by heart. Samira seemed compelled to assure me that no matter what happened she was with me. Her hand in mine was tight and she kept glancing up at me. Finally, I told her I knew that I didn't have to worry about losing her. She wouldn't leave me.

Finally, the large golden doors were before us and the guards opened them for us. When we walked into the throne room, Bastian, or Awi, and his wife were sitting atop their thrones that sat atop the large golden staircase. They glanced down at us and seemed happy that we finally arrived. Bastian came down from his throne with his arms open and then in a flash was standing directly in front of Samira wrapping his arms around her and kissing each cheek.

"I am so glad you made it. I started to worry my vision had been just a dream of a hopeful man."

"Why would you wish our return so much?" I asked curiously trying not to sound judgmental.

"Because Samira needs to be with those who are like her. She needs our help, which is why you are here, is it not?"

I nodded slowly and he turned back to her. "Awi, can you help me?" She asked softly. If he couldn't there was no reason for us to stay so she needed to know the truth. And surely he knew he couldn't lie to her.

"I can, my dear." He said. "But first, come with me and tell me everything." He said taking her hand. She hesitated looking to me for my input. She was waiting for me to swat his hand away like an insect, but instead I gestured for her to go with him, I was right behind her.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26: Source of Power**

**This is a longer chapter, because there's a lot of details. If you get confused just let me know and I'll try to explain it for you **

I still wasn't sure if this was the right decision, but she wanted answers. She had to know what was wrong with her, why she was so different. She needed to know why she was having these nightmares that kept coming true. And frankly so did I. I couldn't stand another night of watching her writhe in her sleep in pain screaming and crying for it to stop. I couldn't help her, and Bastian claimed he could. I was willing to see what he would say.

We came into the temple and Samira sat in a chair in the middle of the floor with all their gods surrounding her. I stood in the doorway watching her carefully in case she needed me. Bastian wanted to talk to her alone but I refused to leave her side. She would randomly glance over to me to reassure me she was alright.

"Samira, tell me about the vision you had last night."

Her eyes moved from me to him a few times nervously. I could see that she was afraid to talk about it, as if talking about it made it more real, more likely to come to life. She shook her head refusing to answer him, so I nodded insistently.

"I saw…" She paused to take a deep breath to try and calm herself down. "I saw you." She said looking to me. "And two people we do not yet know."

"What was he doing?" Bastian asked calmly. He was the most serene person I'd ever met, nothing flustered him. I knew no matter what came out of her mouth next he wouldn't be surprised.

"Standing on a roof…at dawn."

Dawn? I was confused. I looked to her curiously wanting to understand.

"Why?" He continued.

She shook her head again, and he repeated himself sternly. She needed to answer him whether she liked the answer or not. She began to cry silently with her head down in shame.

"Was it an execution? Was he constrained? Perhaps these two strangers were members of the European Authority."

"No."

"You seem very certain."

She began to speak, but the answer was too much to bear. She looked to me with watery eyes and I knew what she saw was my death just as I had worried. I always wondered how I would die, now I knew. Yet I wished I didn't.

"Samira?" When she didn't answer he went on. "Samira, what are your visions like?"

"What -what do you mean?" She stammered. She was surprised by the question, she hadn't expected it. If he had them too how would he not know what they were like?

"Are they strange in any way? Do you see flashes or is it as real as this moment?"

"No, they are real."

"Can you hear what's being said?"

"Yes." She stated not seeing what was so strange about it. We both figured that was just the norm – or at least the norm for their kind.

He nodded. I was wrong. She obviously said something he wasn't prepared for. But I wasn't sure what. He changed the subject back to the problem. "What did you see?"

Her eyes stayed on me. "You… walked… towards the sun… with… open arms." She cried finally falling apart. Her body fell and she put her hands over her face to hide from the world.

"Samira, I – " I began to rebuttal, to say that I would never do such a thing, but Bastian took my arm and led me out of the room. He closed the door behind us to prevent her from overhearing, or at least diminish it. "What's wrong with her?" I demanded.

"She's having premonitions. It's a very rare gift."

"How rare?"

"I have met every gifted person in the known world, both human and immortal, and I have only known perhaps four oracles. A human woman whose sight was subjective, the future in her eyes could change. Then she married and lost her sight. Years later, I met a man who had only one premonition in his entire life and it wasn't until he was lying on his death bed. He foretold his own death."

"And the third?"

"Me." He stated. "And not even I have had the kind of sight Samira does. Her visions are clear and organized. Even my own visions are mute, I can only see."

Frankly, hearing that she was more powerful than even he was didn't make me feel any better. It made me feel worse. He was three thousand years old, he was supposed to be the most powerful person on the planet, a god on earth. If she wasn't even a fraction of his age yet and was more powerful already, what did that make her? My head hurt just thinking about it.

"What about the rest of her abilities? We know she's immune to sunlight, and her blood allows you to be as well. Is she immune to silver?"

"I do not know." I shrugged.

"She can read minds, we know that. She sees the future. Has she ever seen the past?"

"If she has, she has not told me."

"What happens when she goes into these _attacks_ as you call them? And I do not mean physically, I know it's painful. What I need to know is what she does."

"She screams." I stated blatantly.

"I know it's difficult."

Very seriously I look him in the eyes to say, "I doubt that." He may know what it was like to go through in part what she was going through, but he had no way of understanding what it was like for me to watch the love of my life go through that kind of suffering.

"I went through everything she is now going through. It's painful and frightening beyond imagination."

With that said he walked back into the temple to confront her again. He stood before her tall and confident like any king. She stared back at him without fear. She was exhausted, though.

"I know how _I _am gifted." He said. "But how are you, I wonder?"

"I – I do not know."

"What do you know of your family history?"

"Why?" She asked quickly, obviously not wanting to talk about such things. She never even answered me that question in our time together. After a while I quit asking.

"I see, it must be an unpleasant subject." He said with a smirk then quickly grabbed her arm to read the tattoo of hieroglyphs on her bicep.

"Nai!" She cried trying to pull away. Seeing him grab her like that angered me and I quickly tried to take her but his hand flew up and magically I was lifted off the ground unable to move.

"Imhotep." He said with disbelief. I had never heard that name before. Whenever I asked her why her family was punished so severely she always said she didn't want to talk about it. Yet she had the nerve to scold me about not telling her about my family during that awful time Calix was in our lives.

"Irin wpi wi, Medjhai (Do not judge me, Medjhai)."

"I am not judging you, my dear girl." He said releasing her arm as well as releasing me. Gravity forced me back to the ground and I quickly took her hand pulling her to my body to protect her.

"Do not touch her." I ordered. Though he ignored the threat as if I were nothing more than an insect, I was of no consequence, I couldn't hurt him. He turned back to her.

"It is said that Imhotep was sentenced to be mummified alive, and that those in his family who were still alive – a sister, brother-in-law and niece – were banished from Thebes and marked as outcasts so no one could take them in. They were to be gypsies, banished from society."

"He betrayed _us_, so why did we have to pay the price?" She spat.

"Do not blame me, dear girl, I am not Seti."

"Awi, can you not see you are hurting the girl?" His wife asked coming to stand beside him. "She is the last of her family, do not bring her more pain by dishonoring the dead."

He nodded agreeing with her. "Forgive me, I mean no disrespect. Imhotep was the son of a priest and he took his father's place as a man. That power was passed down through your bloodline to this very day. You are a priestess, and I would be surprised if you did not know so. Surely your mother and father taught you."

"Of course they did. My father was a priest of Amun-Ra. He made a living preaching to the sick and dying, and preparing the dead that others ignored."

"And you? Which god have you devoted your life to?"

"My mother would not permit it. It was not for a woman, she said. My brother was to follow my father, and I was to make a living as an entertainer like my mother."

"A prostitute?" One of the men asked abruptly.

"How dare you – I would never."

"Please, Samira, calm yourself. I can see the tattoo on your belly, and I know that does not constitute you to be such a woman, I have seen many dancers bearing the same. You are a mother, are you not?"

She nodded. "Tali." She pointed to Tali who stood by the doorway behind us. "I was sixteen, young and in love for the first time. But he left before I even knew she existed. A year later I became what I am now leaving her behind to be raised by my brother. I'm sorry."

"I forgive you." Tali whispered. She had finally come to grips with the truth. It wasn't easy, but she was strong like her mother, and I imagine many other women in Samira's family who came before her. Somehow I imagined Samira's own mother was much like she was, and I could almost paint a picture of the woman in my mind.

"I know your family. Not merely because of Imhotep, but because I was a student of your ancestor long before your family fell from grace."

Surprise fell across her face and speechlessness, which was rare. She blinked a few times trying to focus and think, then stammered, "Who?"

"I do not know the name he was given at birth, but what we called him was Meri-Amen."

She nodded knowing the name. "I have heard of him. He was the first royal scribe in the family, and the rumor was that he was a prophet."

"He was a prophet. I saw his power with my own eyes, and it's a power we shared. He taught me how to control it. It's also a power he passed onto his descendents, including you apparently."

"How old _are_ you?" She asked rather bluntly with no manners, but it was a curiosity we shared so I wasn't going to object. He didn't seem to mind either, he chuckled a little.

"From the time I was born to the time I was turned and even beyond that a few years, Sesostris I was Pharaoh."

She gasped putting her hands over her mouth. "Oh my gods."

I had no idea what that meant. I never heard of the king, I had no way of knowing how long ago he lived. He saw my confusion and turned to me to answer simply. "I am two-thousand years old…almost. I was close with your family for many years. I loved Meri-Amen like a father, and he was the man I ran to when I was turned. I was afraid and I needed help. Surprisingly, he did not turn me away. I continued to watch over his family even leading them to the throne for the sixteenth dynasty, it only lasted a century, but it was worth it. Then again for the eighteenth dynasty which lasted much longer…I lost touch after that due to the war. When I heard about Imhotep's betrayal I…I wish I could have stopped it."

"No one could have. He did it for the right reasons, but he was selfish and foolish. He abused the power and that comes with a price."

"How true that is."

"I have a question." I asked speaking up for the first time. "I understand all of this, but what I do not understand is where it came from? Imhotep was obviously a powerful priest, like everyone else in her family, but where did it come from?"

"I asked Meri-Amen the same question when I was a boy – when he was telling me about my own abilities. The first kings were the gods, starting with Ra. Then the second dynasty was of their children who were left behind on Earth to live like humans. Then a dynasty of other kings, and the last dynasty to rule before the early pharaohs, ten kings made up of Horus' disciples. These men were priests, devoted to him in every way. Their only duty was to rule the land, make it flourish in the gods' names, and in order to do that they were each granted power making them superior to the average human being so that the humans would bow down to them and give them no trouble. These kings were also given wives, each of them also disciples of the gods and powerful to keep their bloodline strong. I come from one of those kings, as does Samira."

"Do you know which?" She asked excitedly.

He shook his head and her face fell. "Here in the temple we have their names but it is hard to tell from which king and queen your bloodline began with. The only way to judge is by your abilities and your strength. Though they were disciples of Horus, each king and queen were blessed by a specific god and goddess, usually husband and wife themselves to represent them among the people…come." He took her hand and led her deeper into the temple. I didn't like him being so close to her, but I had little choice. As long as he was helping I couldn't complain. She seemed interested so I followed silently watching his hand on her arm.

He led us into the deepest part of the temple down a flight of stairs. To his right he reached over tilting a mirror so it would touch the sunlight that came in through the ceiling and the room lit up, light bouncing from mirror to mirror. Then I looked at the walls and noticed they were covered in writing. This room was a large story depicting the beginning, the gods, their ruling over Egypt, and their children after them, all the way to the last dynasty of disciples as Bastian had explained.

"These are they." He announced pointing to the wall closest to the door, which was apparently the end of the story. I could not read what I was seeing which were likenesses of ten kings, one atop the other in list form each sitting on a throne facing their wives who were on the other side in the same manner and in between was the story and their names. "Each disciple took a name of the god who blessed them, though they were not the gods, the people believed them to be. They took the names, but did not hide their faces under masks to appear as the gods. It was an attempt to make the gods look more human, more relatable."

"But did it work?"

"They were very successful rulers. Manetho, the historian, wrote that they ruled for 350 years, however it was actually longer. He got his dates wrong, the dynasty before them was much shorter than he gave it credit for, so the timeline of when this dynasty began is off. If I remember correctly it lasted roughly five hundred years and it ended. Mind you this was four thousand years ago so the exact dates are a little hazy. No one that old still survives with my own maker's death. He was from that era."

Samira nodded and turned to read the wall. She read the first name aloud, "The first king took on the name of Horus. Naturally." She sighed unsurprised, since Horus was the one he served.

I leaned against the wall listening, though none of it made sense to me. I wasn't Egyptian, I didn't really care for all of this, but I was nice about it. Meanwhile she continued to read them aloud so that I would understand it, not that I needed to understand, but she didn't want to confuse me. His wife that was given to him was named Hathor, of course since she was the wife of Horus. Then Khnum and wife Satis, Shu and Tefnut, Geb and Nut, Seth and Nephthys, Osiris and Isis, Ptah and Sekhmet, Ra and Mut, Anubis and Bastet (which she said was strange because those two gods were not lovers according to most people) and lastly Thoth and Maat. The curious thing, though, was some of the women were the high rulers as the more powerful between her and her husband. Bastet was one of them, and since the goddess has no known husband, the queen picked the name of a well known god to sit beside her. Also, apparently the only pair that was related was the twin brothers who named themselves Seth and Osiris.

"So do you know which of them you descend from?"

"Before I answer that, I should finish the story. Each priest, along with their powers, was given something else to keep their throne safe from anyone who would dare to try and prove them ungodly and unworthy…immortality. Ten of these priests and priestesses (Horus, Khnum, Shu, Geb, Seth, Osiris, Sekhmet, Ra, Bastet, and Maat) were the first of our kind."

"Are you saying that they were the first vampires?" I asked thinking the notion sounded ridiculous. He was just spinning the story now to make himself look superior.

"Yes, though not the same as we are now. They were beautiful compared to what the race has become. Not all of them spread the condition, only two…Seth and Osiris. They became makers and those they turned became like you, ungifted and bloodthirsty…no offense intended. Seth was compelled by the evil god he was named for and he influenced his brother to go along. This was all after their reign was over, mind you, they were not granted this immortality until their deaths. It was then, when Seth was dying that he killed a man and realized that was his salvation from death. He told his brother of this secret and together they fled the country to hide from the gods. They went North into Europe and spread the disease there, which is why the Europeans believe that they have the right to the throne over all vampires. They believe vampirism is European in origin, but they are mistaken."

"Did the gods find them?"

"No, they sent the new king and queen after them. Together Sekhmet and her husband Ptah brought them back and sentenced them to death for their betrayal. The only thing that could kill them was fire, and the only thing strong enough to restrain them was silver. So they were bound and burned at the stake."

I had to admit after hearing the whole story, I no longer thought it sounded that ridiculous. Samira looked at me and I knew that look. He was telling the truth.

"Now to answer your question, there is no way of knowing for certain. Even though they were immortal they were not barren as we are. Their children were mortal, but still gifted just as you were before you were turned. However, my best guess is that my family descends from the final king and queen. And if I had to guess which you hail from I would not know, there are so many possibilities because you possess so many gifts."

Finally I spoke up with an idea, the only one I could think of. She was far too powerful to be from just one, as he said her abilities surpassed anything he'd ever seen before in his two thousand years. "Is it possible she descends from more than one? Perhaps, the children of the priests intermarried."

"No, it was forbidden. Each bloodline was to remain pure and not mix with each other for it would make a combination too powerful. It would breed a god among men."

"How else do you explain it?" I asked him seriously. Besides, just because something was forbidden did not mean it never happened. Moreso than not, what was forbidden was what they did simply because it was.

"He has a point, Awi." She said calling him by his birth name. "No single god possessed that kind of power, not even the creator (Ptah). It had to have happened at least once, the forbidden is too tempting."

He shook his head. "The gods would have known and they would have killed the child from such a union."

"They would not kill their own flesh and blood."

He gave her a curious look wondering why she referred to the priests as the gods' family. He had never said they were related. "How did you know that?"

"My father told me this story, a version of it, anyway. He left out the part about vampires, but he told me of the ten priests knowing we hailed from that line of kings, and the other pharaohs you mentioned earlier. That was how you were able to secure them on the throne, you knew they descended from royal blood…god blood. My father told me that those priests were actually the descendents of the second dynasty kings and queens who were children of the gods left here in Egypt to rule in their stead while they remained in the afterlife. Then when they died their own children were to succeed them, but they lost it. It wasn't for another millennium and a half that the rightful descendents were put back on the throne with some divine help. The gods grew tired of their bloodline being pushed aside and the humans that ruled were growing unworthy, the people were unhappy, so the gods stepped in."

"But your father never told you which god you descend from?"

"No. He said to speak of such things could get us killed for blasphemy, so he never spoke of it again. We asked, but he never gave us a name."

"Is there a record of it?"

"If there is it would be in the family crypt in Hamunaptra where Imhotep was buried along with the rest of my family in disgrace. Seti claimed anyone born of our line was too dangerous, even in death, to be buried anywhere else. Then after time it just became tradition."

"Could you get it?"

"Why is that important?" I asked. "It may not even exist."

"It may be the only chance she has at understanding what she is. If you do not know which king you hailed from you cannot pray to them and ask for their help."

I sighed. All of this Egyptian tradition and religion was making my head spin. It was all very confusing, very strange. The elements were simpler, easy to understand. Not to mention they were something we knew existed, you could see, smell, taste, every sense was there to prove they existed. These gods of theirs…where were they? But it didn't matter. If it would help her, I had no choice. We were going back to Hamunaptra.

_So if you're still confused, basically Samira is part god. She's not a fey like Sookie, she's just very in tune with the gods powers. And having been turned immortal and turned into a vampire like the other priests before her has only heightened the fact, and now she's nearly pretty much a walking goddess, as is Awi (Bastian). _


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27: Family Tree**

**Please REVIEW! Thanks to DarkAngel620 again for always reviewing, and thanks to MrsSkarsgard too for her support. I know there are more people who have this story added, so please give me some more reviews. I used to get a lot more. **

To be honest I don't think Samira knew what she was looking for in Hamunaptra. Not exactly. She knew what she needed to find but that wasn't always the same thing. Her ancestors – if they knew – had taken their secrets to the grave and it was impossible to know where they may have buried said secrets. Imhotep, as she told me, was a genius when it came to his death. He had more secrets than anyone could have guessed, and he was invincible. If he were to ever be awakened it would be hell on earth. He had been given the Homundai (probably spelled wrong), which was the worst of all of Egypt's curses. She didn't even know who where it came from, probably the gods.

Anyway, the point being that Samira's family was full of family secrets that she hadn't the faintest idea how to get ahold of. However, her father had obviously known about their divine heritage, so she figured the best place to start looking was in her parents' grave. She knew it was wrong to go grave digging, but she had little choice. She needed answers. This was going to be a long treasure hunt.

We got off the camels once we entered Hamunaptra and were surprised to see we were not alone. There was a man and his followers there guarding the entrance into the temple. They were all dressed in black, each with marks on their faces, and veils over their mouths to help them breathe in the sand. Medjai. The leader came forward once he spotted Samira, but he never came down from his camel. I looked in his eyes and something about the way he was looking at her was unsettling. They were deep brown and when she looked up she gasped and backed away nearly fainting. I had to catch her just to keep her from falling.

He climbed down and took her hands helping me lift her back up onto her feet, but she quickly removed his touch.

"Samira?" He said softly. The tone in his voice sounded as if he was an old acquaintance who didn't expect to see her there.

Rather than answering she looked to me for help. Then I remembered what Tali had said. Her father worked for the Authority, he was one of them.

"You – you are Amenwati." I stated keeping my arms firmly around Samira so he would understand she was mine and he couldn't touch her ever again.

He didn't even seem surprised that I knew his name as he removed the veil letting it drop on one side. Once Samira saw his face she quickly turned away. The man she had loved so long ago, who had abandoned her, apparently still made her heart ache, and I couldn't blame her. He was her first - her first everything - and that wasn't something you just forget.

"Samira, please look at me." He begged in Egyptian. I was so glad I understood the language now. He couldn't hide anything from me.

She obliged hesitantly turning her face towards him, but her eyes kept moving away. She refused to look him in the eye and I could feel her shaking. She thought she'd never have to face him. I knew the look on her face – Samira was full of pent of rage and sorrow for this man and she was about to burst.

"I cannot believe it's really you. I thought I would never see you again."

I couldn't help myself and I blurted out, "And whose fault is that?"

His eyes slowly averted to me and he seemed very unpleased with my outburst. It wasn't any of my business, their past. "Who are you?"

"Godric." She answered before I could. Then for the first time she looked him in the eyes to say, "My lover."

Apparently, I wasn't the only one who got sick in the stomach at the thought of her being with someone else. When she told him, he suddenly looked green. That hadn't been what he wanted to hear, he must have been hoping I was her maker, progeny, or even slave perhaps. He wiped his face trying to hide his ill look, but it didn't help. Tali said she had told him about her run in with us, but I guess she failed to mention me, or she lied about my relationship with her mother knowing how her father obviously still cared for Samira. If he loved her so much, why'd he abandon her?

Samira nudged me off of her, she had regained composure and walked closer to where he was sitting on a large rock. Speaking my mind she said, "If you cared so much, why did you leave?...I was with child for the sake of Ra, Amenwati!"

"I did not know!" He yelled back. "How could I have known! It was impossible!"

"Apparently not." She rasped bearing her fangs. "I loved you…For the sake of Ra, I love you still."

What did she just say?

"You heard me." She answered me looking over her shoulder. Then she added softly, "I'm sorry." She didn't really need to apologize, I understood. I had never been in that situation, but I knew that kind of love didn't just fade away. It may have been dormant, but now that she was face to face with him again it was awake. I just had to remind myself that I had nothing to worry about, he couldn't steal her from me.

"Samira." He sighed looking up at her. "I swear had it been different – had I known there was a possibility – I would have stayed with you and our daughter. But obviously the gods chose a different fate for you. I was not the one destined to keep you…he was." He added looking to me for a brief moment then he looked back to her. "Are you happy?"

She nodded her reply then looked back to me. Now was my time to defend myself. So I stepped forward and took her hand to pull her back against me as I had her before. "I would never bring her harm."

"But do you love her as she deserves to be loved?"

"I do as much as I can. If that is not is enough then I would let her go."

He seemed satisfied with my answer, and Samira's kiss helped. He couldn't watch as she kissed me so he rose and got back on his camel. "I will leave you to do what you must, I trust you will not awaken him."

Who?, I wondered.

She whispered the answer in my ear, "Imhotep." Then she looked back to him and his companions. "My Ra watch over you."

He nodded in gratitude and said, "And to you." Before leaving.

She turned back to me wrapping her arms around my neck. I didn't like the sullen look on her face. Something was wrong, and it had to do with him. "What is it?"

"Forgive me?"

"For what?"

"For loving him."

"Love, I understand." I promised her as I cupped her face in my hands. She leaned into my touch feeling satisfied and I wiped the tears from her face. I never realized until now that she had been crying while talking to him. "I know that you will never stop loving him, but luckily you can love more than one person at the same time. Especially with a heart like yours, you have an infinite amount of love for the world, which I love. I know I have nothing to worry about."

"I wish I had the same faith in myself."

"You fear being around him?"

"I fear feeling like that girl I used to be. He is the past, Godric, the moment I saw him I felt alive again, as if the past years with you had never happened. I miss that life, I miss that innocence, and I am afraid that I will want it so much that I beg him to give it to me."

"Samira, I love you, and I cannot imagine living without you, but if that is what you chose, I would let you go."

"No." She objected shaking her head and gripping my shirt tighter. "Do not let me. If I ever say that, do not believe it. I love you more – more than anything. Do not let me go down that path, please."

I hugged her close letting her know that she had nothing to fear. She always said she felt safest when I held her like this, so I always did it whenever she felt afraid of anything, including herself. "Sh…You have nothing to worry about, love."

A little while later we walked into the temple and I followed her through the tunnels and mazes of the place until we found the underground chamber where all her family was buried. Her brother and one of his children were the first since they were the newest editions. Soon her family would have to stop being buried here; they were running out of room.

She quickly found her father and mother's grave – all married couples were buried side by side, but some spouses were refused to be buried with the member of the family that they had married. Her mother had been allowed because she had no one else. She had been orphaned as a child and had no other family to go to. Samira fell to her knees holding the shovel in her hand. "Forgive me, Papa, for doing this, but you never told us. You should have warned me about all of this. You knew - you knew I was special, you told me every day, even though Mama did not want to believe it. You raised me differently than my brother believing I had a special fate. Well, this was it, Papa, and now I am at a loss…Forgive me." She struck the ground with her shovel and started digging. A gust of wind came through startling the both of us, but she didn't stop. Being in the place made me reevaluate my beliefs. It was one of those eerie places that made you think about your spirituality. It all seemed so real here.

I joined her in the digging and we soon came to the sarcophaguses of her parents that lay side by side. One – her father's on the left – was depicted like a pharaoh, which I found interesting. He wore some kind of crown that looked like two large feathers.

"Amun-Ra." She said. Was that the answer then? As a descendent of the king of the gods himself, he was depicted as such in death rather than a lowly gypsy? But that was too easy, wasn't it? "Yes." She agreed. "This may be just part of the answer."

Then I looked to her mother and noticed she was also wearing a crown. She had not been any normal woman either. Or was that just to go along with her husband?

"Her crown is that of Mut, Amun-Ra's wife, so it means nothing of interest." She said before taking a key in her hand and opening her father's sarcophagus. She slid it open enough to see his bones and she wept for him. Seeing him like this must have been hard. "I am so sorry, Papa." She cried.

"You had no choice." I reminded her. "Just get what you need and leave him in peace."

She nodded and looked inside, but there was nothing there save a staff that he was clutching that she recognized. She put her hand on it feeling it, feeling the top thinking that perhaps the jewel was a button, but nothing happened. It looked fairly expensive for something a gypsy would own. If they had seen him walking the streets with that they would have accused him of stealing it.

"He only carried it with him when he was conducting sermons, or healing the sick. I had always thought it was a prop, that it had no real power because Papa had all the power, but perhaps I was wrong."

"Could it just be a family heirloom?"

She nodded. It was a strong possibility, but her theory couldn't just be tossed out. That staff could be anything. It was made out of pure gold with a falcon head for a top and his eyes were rubies. The falcon also wore a crown – a pharaoh's crown unlike the one that any god wore. Samira tried to pry it from her father's fingers but another gust of wind blew through and she froze.

"What?"

"Papa?" She whispered.

"Samira?"

"Papa, please, I have to know!" She shouted back as if someone were speaking to her. It wouldn't be the first time, so I waited to see what would happen. She was still tugging on it, but he had a death grip on the thing. "You never told me!" She continued and the wind only got stronger. As I watched the sand in the wind blow around us it was making forms in the air as if it there were people standing around us, but no one was there. "You hid the truth from us out of fear of the Pharaoh, but he cannot harm us now!" She screamed to them all. She could see them, probably better than I could. She was addressing them all now. "Please!"

They seemed to think about it for a moment, and I realized this was all her family. Her ancestors surrounded us passing their judgment on her, of whether or not she was worthy to know their secrets. Finally, it gave way and she was able to grab it. The wind ceased and everything went quiet again. As if the skeleton of her father were alive its fingers let go of the staff giving it to her which frankly made me feel unsettled. Being with her was hazardous to my health.

She fell back holding her father's staff and magically the sarcophagus slammed closed again. I knew even if she tried she would never be able to get that open again. We climbed out of the hole and buried her parents again leaving them to rest in peace as they should, then she sat there on the ground above them staring and studying it wondering what it was for. All that fuss over it and we still didn't know anything about it.

"What now?" I asked.

She looked at the bottom for the first time and something in her eyes lit up.

"What?"

"It's a key."

"A key?" I said blatantly. All that for a key?

"Papa always carried it, he never walked with it like men did with other staffs, it never touched the ground. See, look at the bottom." She held it up for me and I could see that the bottom was not a point or a flat surface like you would expect from a walking stick. It had a shape to it. The head of a falcon and the bottom of a disk with a snake wrapped around it. "It's the sun disk, it's what Ra wears on his head."

Then why did the falcon have a pharaoh's crown on his head? None of this made sense.

She laughed at me and took my hand. "Come, we have to find Meri-Amen." He had been the first as far as she knew. But he came before Imhotep, so why would he be buried there?

"He is not buried here, you are right." She said. "But I can assure you that Imhotep knew of our heritage and he would have hidden it here along with the rest of his secrets. Meri-Amen was the first royal scribe, the first royal priest in our family, he started the tradition. So there must be a reference to him of somekind here somewhere, whether his name, or a picture, anything. We have to find it."

"Love, I do not read your hieroglyphs."

She laughed at me again taking my hand. She picked up a small rock from the sand and plucked a flower. She squeezed the pollen out of it and dabbed the rock in it to write the images in my arm. "There, now you know what to look for. We will split up, it will go faster."

"Samira – "

"Nothing will happen to you, I promise. They are on our side now, they will protect you." She said gesturing to all the graves around us. I could still sense them, though I couldn't see them as she could. But I knew we weren't alone, I could feel it every time we came here, and that was probably why I never liked it much.

I agreed knowing I had no other option and we split ways. Even if I did find what I was looking for, how would I ever be able to find her and then bring her back to the place I found it? I would get lost, and then I'd be useless. I had to trust her that her family would help us find whatever it was we were looking for.

(Samira's POV)

As I walked to the back of the underground cavern where our line started with Imhotep who was buried under the statue of Horus to commemorate his crime, I noticed something else of interest that I had never noticed before. On the wall was Imhotep's name, there was a scripture about him. I wiped away the cobwebs and the dirt to read it. It was the explanation of our family and Imhotep's crime, but it called him Imhotep II. Why was he recorded her as the II where in every other mention of him he was called simply Imhotep? There had been no other Imhotep in our family, we feared using the name again. So was there another Imhotep before him?

Then I heard a whisper in my ear. "Have you forgotten all that we taught you?" Papa asked.

I looked around, but I could not see him. I wished I could see his face just one more time, but at least I could feel him nearby and I could hear his voice. I listened to him and I thought hard about the name. Where else had I heard it?

Meri-Amen had been a royal scribe, but not a royal priest. The answer did not lie with him. Imhotep had been named for the immortal of the same name. The first Imhotep had been an architect and a medicine man – a priest of Ra like my father and grandfather and most forefathers. He was famous for building the step pyramid of his Pharaoh Djoser. He later became immortalized and was called the son of Ptah. I had Godric looking for the wrong name. And I knew wehre to find this one.

"Godric!" I called running after him. I followed his scent, which was hard because the whole place stunk of decay and death. But I found him. "I figured it out. It's not Meri-Amen that we have to find, it's someone much older."

"Love, you're not making sense."

"Come." I dragged him by the arm and led him to where I had seen that name. This temple was much older than most people knew. They thought Imhotep had built it for Seti, but they were wrong. IMhotep did build it, but not that Imhotep. Imhotep the first had built this for himself, it was his resting place that carried him to the afterlife…he was the source of this place's power.

I led Godric down the stairs to the place where we had watched my brothers' funeral. It was wehre Imhotep II had been caught trying to resurrect his dead lover who happened to be Seti's wife, Anaksunamen.

"Samira, would you tell me what you are doing?" He asked as we came to the bottom of the stairs and I rushed across the room to the walls. He stood there in awe staring at the stone table where Anaksunamen had laid, and where she would again if Imhotep was ever raised.

I quickly found the picture of Djoser's pyramid and the mention of Imhotep's great build. Most people anymore thought they were the same person due to this temple, but they were wrong. I wiped away the dust and studied the pyramid, but there was nothing. I kenw it had to be here so I felt along the picture and realized the pyramid could be moved. I wiggled my fingers between the crack and the pyramid opened like door and I found the keyhole. I put the staff to it and turned it a couple times before hearing a click. The wall gave way and turned like a door opening up into another room. I looked over my shoulder to Godric who sighed in relief, but I knew that look. He didn't want to have to search yet another room. But he followed me anyway down into the tomb. I lit one of the torches and found that in this place my magic was much stronger. And it came to me much easier. We walked down the flight of stairs and we were standing in his tomb. His sarcophagus laid in the middle on an elevated table and he was surrounded by gold walls engraved with his story. All around him was his wealth and possessions he wanted to take with him to heaven. I walked over to his sarcophagus and bowed my head paying my respects before putting the staff to the keyhole.

"Did you really think it would be that easy, Samira?" I heard from behind me and I whipped around to see a man staring at me.

"Samira?" Godric asked sounding like he was far away when he was right behind me.

"How do you know my name?"

"We are blood, I know all of my family."

"It is true…you are the son of Ptah. That's my heritage?"

"You have come a long way, dear one. I was beginning to wonder when you would return home and face your destiny."

"What destiny?"

"Your father was right to tell you you were special as a child, because you are. You have been an immortal like our ancestors who came even before me. Your immortality gives you power, including my own which had become dormant in my bloodline. It is awake now in you."

"Does that mean I will be able to heal as you did?"

He nodded once in answering. "You shall have all my power, and that of our ancestors who took the names of the gods. I believe you know which king we hail from."

"Ra." I stated. It made sense. Ra was the god he had been devoted to and it was the god most of those in our family had been devoted to. Ra and Ptah…they were my ancestors. Godric had been right. The two did cross, which would explain why I was so different.

"The only question left is what will you do with this knowledge?"

"All I want is to be able to control what is inside me and live a good life. Whether or not the life I choose is important to others, I could care less, I just want to be happy…with him." I added gesturing to Godric behind me who was staring blankly around the room looking for the phantom he knew I was talking to. Sometimes I wished he could see the things I could, but other times I was glad he couldn't. I didn't know how much he could handle. I didn't want to scare him away.

"Fair enough." He said and his sarcophagus opened without the key. "Inside you will find what Awi is looking for…yes I know him." He added seeing the surprise in my face. How? "Awi is like you, a descendent of gods. We keep a close eye on the lot of you." He smiled. "Take it. It was your destiny to have it."

I turned and looked inside to see the necklace draped around his neck and the scroll that he clutched in his hands. The necklace was beautiful. A jeweled scarab with wings. Another symbol Pharaohs often used. He picked it up and draped it around my neck. I thought Godric was going to faint as he saw the necklace raise up on its own to fasten around my neck. Then I took the scroll in my hands knowing it was my family tree that Awi had been wanting. But I had a feeling it was much more than that.

"Thank you." I said happily.

"I will be watching you." He said with a smile and then he was gone and his sarcophagus sealed shut like my father's had done.

I looked to Godric and smiled. "We can go now."

_**Personally, I love this chapter. Let me know what you think!**_


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28: Dream Come True**

**Please Review**

We came back to the palace where Bastian and his wife were waiting. Samira still wore her ancestor's necklace, and once he had put it on her I immediately recognized it as the one I saw in my dream while we were buried in Britain. I had stopped her before we left the temple and asked her how that was possible. Only she had dreams of the future, not me. She laughed at me and informed me that she had had that dream too and sent it to him. She didn't know how she did it, but it took all the energy she had left. But she had to give it to me because it was a sign of hope that they would get out of there and we would be alright. It might have worked had I known it was more than just a dream.

Now I wondered what else was going to happen. What else from that dream was going to come true?

We walked into the throne room and the king and queen walked down the stairs to meet us. Tali walked over too, her father standing behind her. He nodded to Samira as if to say hello and then walked past headed for the door. With us returned he could go back to the temple and do his job which was to guard it in order to make sure Imhotep never rose.

Samira handed the scroll over to Bastian. We had already read it and we knew that they would want to see it, not just to know what and who Samira was, but also to know themselves.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" He asked her. He could see that the seal had been broken.

"I think this is more than that. Read it."

He opened it and stared at it blankly for a moment then his eyes widened realizing what exactly he was looking at. That scroll was a detailed record of all the bloodlines of the gods who were kings of the first dynasty and their children who were kings of the second dynasty. It wasn't just Samira's bloodline, it was everyone's who was a gifted.

"Where did you get this?"

"From Imhotep…the first Imhotep."

"First?" Dorothea asked. "I thought there was only one."

Bastian's eyes rose and I realized he had figured it out. He looked to Samira who was smirking slyly. "No." He said. "Imhotep I was the architect who built Djoser's pyramid. He was called the son of Ptah."

"And he also built Hamunaptra as his own resting place." Samira finished. "He's my ancestor. I found his tomb and he had the scroll. He wrote it."

Bastian looked back down to the scroll and he could see that she was telling the truth. Imhotep was the son of Ptah, and his mother was a mortal, but no mere mortal. Her own heritage was as divine as her son's. I had been right to assume the only reason she was more powerful than even Bastian was that she had more than one of those kings and queens in her bloodline. The kings and queens of disciples of Horus that Bastian had told us about were themselves descendents of the gods. I had slowly been adding everything together.

Ra and his wife Mut had a son who was the second king of the second dynasty. (Remember the first dynasty was the gods, then the second was their children. The third was another group not related to them, and then the fourth were the disciples who became the first vampires). That son was an ancestor of one of the disciples that she hailed from – the Queen who called herself Isis. Since she took the name of Isis she also got some of her power and her husband named himself Osiris getting some of that god's powers. Now, on top of those disciples, as I had predicted, Samira had two more in her bloodline. Somewhere down the line that line crossed with one of the descendents of the disciples who called themselves Horus and Hathor who had been the first in that dynasty. Then down the line came Imhotep's mother who had an affair with Ptah. So actually she had three different gods in her blood and power from four others thanks to those disciples; the god of kings and the sun (Ra); the god of creation, fertility and the arts (Ptah); the goddess of queens (Mut); and the god of the dead (Osiris); and the goddess of magic, fertility, and motherhood (Isis); god of the sky and vengeance (Horus); and goddess of love, beauty, and motherhood (Hathor). Samira was a walking god, which was frightening.

"I never thought the gods would allow someone like you to ever be born." Bastian said. "No one should have that much power who was mortal."

Samira smirked taking that as a compliment rather than an insult. Ever since she met Imhotep she seemed much more confident, his pride in her restored her confidence in herself.

"What does it say about you, love?" Dorothea asked her husband curiously. "And the rest of us." She peered over her husband's shoulder to find her name.

"He kept such a good record, how could he know all of this?" Tali asked, speaking for the first time. Samira looked to her daughter in a motherly way, but she still looked sorrowful whenever she looked at Tali. She still blamed herself for her daughter's fate. The eerie thought for me was how powerful was Tali considering her father brought yet another two gods into the bloodline. Then again, they could have been the same two gods, so Tali would be no more powerful than her mother.

"Through his father." Bastian said pointing to a name at the top of the scroll. It was a signature. "This scroll was created magically. Perhaps Ptah gave his son a vision, or possessed him in order to write it and then signed it as proof of its authenticity."

"Imhotep said it was always my destiny to find this." Samira pointed out thinking it was probably important, though none of us knew how yet. What that special destiny he had spoken of was. It was nagging at me, I wanted to know. "I had a special fate."

"Whatever that fate is is probably the answer to why the gods allowed one bloodline so much power."

"That's troubling." I muttered.

"Even more troubling…" Samira said looking to me. "How many more powers do I have that have not appeared yet? Seven gods and so far I have only the power over fire. Shape shifting is a god trait, it's nothing special, all of us have that ability."

"She has a point." Dorothea said. "Only our guards do not possess the gift of shapeshift, because they are not naturally gifted. They have it only from being made by one of us or having our blood in their systems. Much like the effect Samira's blood has on you."

"Well." Samira said to Bastian wanting to get back to problem at hand. "What else is to come?"

"You are the priestess, you tell me." He said. He wanted to test her knowledge.

"Well." She sighed. "I would guess that my ability to withstand sunlight obviously comes from Ra. My ability to manipulate fire…Isis?" She guessed. She was uncertain. "She is the goddess of magic. Then there are my dreams…" She shrugged not being able to connect them.

"The eye of Horus." He said smugly. "The all-seeing eye."

The light shined in her eyes and she then understood. She probably felt like a fool now for not getting that herself, but at least now we knew where all this was coming from. However, we still didn't know what else was going to come.

"It will get worse, though." I chimed in with concern. "Will it not?"

"Her powers will escalate, yes. The powers from Hathor, Mut, Ptah, and Osiris have yet to manifest."

"Well, Osiris is the master of the dead." Dorothea thought aloud. "Could that not account for her ability to read our minds?"

"It's a possibility." Bastian replied, however there was a but coming. "But she can also read the minds of the living."

Samira nodded in agreement and even I knew the answer to that. She had told me of what she could do as a human, how she had already been different than the others. As a human she could still shapeshift, that power did not come from her being a vampire, nor did her reading minds, or her visions. Her father had the dreams too, she had told me. They didn't start until he was a little older than she was, so they hadn't started yet, but in time she still would have had them whether she was turned or not. "I could do that before I was even turned. The reading vampire's thoughts came after."

"Then her power was weakened as a human and the true strength was not given until she became immortal." Said Dorothea. "As a human she could read only human's minds, but as an immortal, she can read the minds of the dead like the god himself."

Bastian replied, "If that is so, then we are down to three, Hathor, Mut, and Ptah." He counted them on his fingers and held them up to emphasize his point. Frankly it didn't matter how many powers we knew of, it was the ones we didn't know of that worried even him. And we didn't know how long it would take for them to show up. Bastian was thousands of years old and Samira hadn't even reached her first century mark yet.

"It's hard to say what she will be able to do in time. With that said, I think it best you stay." He added looking to me since I was the one who turned him down last time. He was begging me not to make the same mistake. I could assure him I wouldn't. I learned my lesson. I nodded to him letting him know that we would stay. Besides, the decision had already been made for me. I knew now that that's what I saw in the dream she gave me. I saw us living here and she was asking me if I truly wanted this life of luxury that they all here in their palace, or if I would rather go back to our lives as they were now. Honestly, I wasn't ready for all of this, but I had to do it for her. She would be safe here, and this was her home. I hadn't had a home since I was a boy and there was no possibility of ever getting it back, so I had to move onto a new one with her. And if this was the one she chose, so be it, as long as she was safe.

"Just promise me one thing." I said. He nodded and listened intently. "Promise me that we will be safe here. We have enemies that would do anything to get their hands on her."

"I can assure you there is no where safer for the both of you."

"Then we will stay."

Samira looked to me with happiness and hugged me tightly. The fear in her eyes of what had been happening to her was gone. She knew everything was going to be alright, because Bastian and Dorothea were there to help her through this.

Bastian clapped his hands in excitement. "Good! We shall have a celebration to our new family members."

"Darling, I think it best we wait until tomorrow night. They are tired, they have had a long and trying day, let them rest." Dorothea said taking her husband's hand.

He looked down at her for a moment pondering her suggestion and soon relaxed giving into her request. "Very well."

"Wait." Tali said getting everyone's attention. Soemthing was troubling her, and I could guess what. If her mother was that powerful, what did that make her combined with her father's bloodline? Amenwati, or Bakari as he called himself now, was a gifted as well. Tali could be even worse than Samira. And Samira studied her and I could tell she was reading her mind.

Bastian looked down at the scroll and found… "Amenwati, son of Awan and wife Banafrit." I watched his finger trace the line upwards until he found the disciples of Horus. "The disciples your father hails from are the ones who called themselves Shu and Tefnut, the third king and queen. And they are descended from the gods…Ptah and Sekhmet."

"That would explain how even as a vampire he was able to impregnate a human." Dorothea muttered softly trying not to insult Samira with her use of words. Samira wasn't bothered by it, it was the memory of being with him that bothered her. But she nodded in agreement. Ptah was the god of fertility, apparently Bakari kept his fertility even in "death" thanks to his forefather. "And" Dorothea continued, "Sekhmet and Tefnut explain why he is such a great warrior and leader."

"He lives for fighting." Samira whispered in remembrance. She was reliving a memory, thinking back on their time together.

"Do not forget, Bakari also controls the wind if he so chooses. Unlike you, Samira, he cannot control all elements, only the one. Now we know why." Shu was the god of the air. So adding that to what Samira had then Tali really wasn't anymore powerful than her mother. Samira already had the power over the air because of her magic, so the only difference was the fighting ability and the fertility. Those weren't really powers, just abilities. Tali had little to worry about.

"What about you?" Tali asked curiously.

Bastian had already memorized the scroll for his own bloodline. He looked up and recited the answer, "I was wrong to have guessed that I descended from the last king and queen who called themselves Thoth and Maat…that is who you hail from, my love." He said turning to Dorothea.

"I do?"

He nodded and showed her the proof. "As well as the gods Geb and Nut (earth and sky)…My ancestors were those who called themselves Seth and Nephthys, the fifth king and queen, and the gods Horus and Hathor."

That would explain why he too could see the future, though his visions were different than hers, but no weaker. Perhaps the extra god in her made her visions a little stronger. What made me curious was how he could walk in the sun if Ra was nowehere in his ancestry.

"How can you walk in the sun?"

"My maker." He stated quickly. I could tell it was a touchy subject and he didn't want to dwell on it. "He is on this list too. He descends from Ra, he had that ability and he passed it on to me when he made me."

I nodded. That explained everyone then. I was still confused, but I was starting to understand a little more. This was still a lot to process. "I think it time we go to bed." I told Samira taking her hand. I was exhausted.

Dorothea smiled and turned to Tali. "Show them to their new room, will you?" She asked before turning away with her husband to retire for the day themselves. We had been gone all night almost in that temple and now it would be dawn in only a few short hours. I was exhausted, and I knew Samira would be. Not to mention hungry.

Tali obliged and escorted us through the large golden doors past the thrones that led to a corridor. There were doors on each side, a couple, then it forked and we went left until we reached the dead end. Tali opened a pair of doors and I saw a very large and luxurious room. We walked in first with Tali behind us.

"Bastian always said he knew you would come and he kept this room for you just in case. How do you like it?"

"It's gorgeous." Samira gasped looking at the artwork on the ceilings. I was staring at the balcony straight ahead recognizing it from my dream and then I looked to the bed. This was definitely where Samira had seen us together. Her dream was coming true. I thought back to how it had happened, how we had ended up here when I was so dead set against it before. I guess Samira really did have a destiny that couldn't be fought. That frightened me.

"I will leave you two alone then. Good night." Tali said before closing the doors behind her and we could hear her walk away as her shoes clicked on the floor. Samira walked over to the closet and pulled back the curtain to reveal she had a trove full of expensive looking dresses. I couldn't help but wonder how Bastian had gotten all of this money he was flaunting around living like a pharaoh.

"You have clothes in here too." She called to me getting my attention.

Frankly, I could have cared less about the clothes, I just wanted to go to bed. So I took her hand and dragged her over then tossed her on it playfully. She laughed as I climbed in to join her. She looked so happy that I couldn't help but feel the same. My heart soared hearing her laugh like that. lately, she'd been so upset and frightened that hearing her laugh again was such a relief.

"You recognize this place." She stated. "You remember it from the dream."

"If you knew we would be back here, why did you fight me before we left Germania?"

"Because I wanted you to be sure."

"I just want you safe." I reminded her yet again.

"I know." She leaned up on her elbow to kiss me and pushed me down onto my back. However, she didn't take it any further than that. She ended the kiss before she got carried away and cuddled up against me to fall asleep. "I love you." She whispered dazily.

"I love you." I whispered back before closing my eyes and letting sleep overtake me. It felt like I hadn't really slept in months. It was such a relief to get through one full day of rest.

**I do have the bloodlines made up, but it won't let me put it on here, so if you want to see them to help you make sense of all of this, just ask and I will give them to you. I have one Samira, Bastian, Dorothea, and Bakari (Tali's dad). **


	29. Chapter 29

_**Chapter 29: Remembrance**_

_**Done in Samira's POV, just a little more background and stuff to help understand the relationship she has with Bakari (Tali's father). It's really long compared to the other chapters, because I wanted the whole story. **_

"KKamenwati." I said loudly as I came into the throne room. Everyone stopped talking immediately to look at me in some fear. I was serious, but I wasn't angry, though it seemed they thought differently. Even KKamenwati, or Bakari, looked afraid. He had seen my temper before, though. "I need to speak to you…now."

He wasn't going to refuse me so he excused himself from the group and followed me into the hall to get away from prying ears. He didn't say anything, he waited patiently for me to speak.

"Tali already told me her side of the story, but I want to hear it from you…How did you find my daughter?"

"Our daughter." He corrected. He knew him better htan I did by now, so he had earned the right to be recognized as her father. She was no longer just mine as she had been when I was still human. "I found her through Bastian…Awi." He told me. "He had a vision of her."

"But how did he know she was your daughter? He said his visions are silent."

"They are. He only has visions of people who are important to us, who are somehow involved with all of this as you have now become." He explained. He never had visions pertaining to someone random that he may run into in the future, or who may pose a threat. He only sees those that must become part of the family. How did they keep themselves safe?

"Can he not see coming threats?"

"No."

"How do you keep yourselves safe?"

"That's my concern. I am the general of the army, you do not have to worry about that."

"Fine…why did you turn our daughter? She is better than all of this, she deserved a better life, a good life, and she had one – "

"Samira, I did not choose this for her." He interjected stopping my ranting and yelling. "She chose this for herself."

"What?"

"When I found her all I wanted was to be her father. I wanted her to know where she came from, and I wanted to understand how it was possible that she existed. I thought she would turn me away, but she wanted to know me. So for a few months we spent time together whenever I could spare it and then I brought her here to meet Bastian. He told her what we were, and he informed us of a vision he had before she was born…before you and I even met."

"He knew she would be born."

He nodded. "And he never told me. That was why he sent us to fight in Libya, he knew it would bring me to you."

"And Tali would be born."

"I hated him for it for years. how could he not tell me I had a child? I swear to you, Samira, had I known – "

I knew, and to prove that I no longer hated him for abandoning me I wrapped my arms around his neck allowing myself some form of closeness between us. It hurt to hold him so close, but I had to. It was an itch that I needed to scratch just one more time. "I forgive you." I whispered.

"I never wanted to hurt you." He whispered back. "I loved you. It was not an act."

That was the only question I needed answered. Whether or not he had really loved me had haunted me throughout all these years, because I had loved him so much. I would have given my life for him, I almost did. But I had Godric now and I was happy, so our past had to stay in the past. We could still love each other without breaking any rules.

Then I pulled back to look him in the eye. "Just promise me one thing."

He nodded and I knew what he wanted to say, 'Anything'.

"Do not turn the other way and pretend I am not here. That is not what I want. I want us to find some kind of middle ground."

"Samira – " He began to argue.

"Please!" I begged. "I lost you once, do not make me bear it a second time."

"What about Godric?" He asked in concern for my lover not wanting to break his heart.

"He will understand. I would never betray him, and that is not what I am suggesting. I merely want us to be able to at least look at each other and speak without it being awkward."

He pondered it for a moment and I could hear his thoughts, his concerns. He wanted to, but the problem was that he also deeply wanted more than what we could have. He wanted to go back in time and make it right, or start over and try again. It would hurt us both to try and be friends when we had so much unsettled between us, but he had no choice. I loved Godric…I loved him more than I loved the man standing before me and I would die before I did anything to jeopardize that. And Godric knew that. Finally, he raised his head and I knew his answer before he said it. He couldn't take the chance. "I cannot." He whispered.

"Please. This does not have to be complicated." I tried one more time, but unsuccessfully.

"Yes it does." He whispered tucking a strand of hair back behind my ear. That simple touch feeling his knuckle brush across my cheek sent me back in time to when I found him. That had the first touch he ever gave me.

I was sitting in the wagon at the back of the caravan staring off into space out of boredom while my little brother, who was 13 at the time, sang loudly. He was always annoying, but honestly now I missed it. I looked off to the distance and I saw a man stumble up one of the hills of sand and it seemed to take all the energy he had left as he fell over once he made it to the top. I couldn't ignore him so I yelled towards the front where Poppa was driving. "Stop!"

Papa pulled as hard as he could on horses' reigns making Amense, me, and everything else in the back of the wagon fly forward.

"What is it?" Mama cried out peeking through the canvas flap from the front where she was sitting beside Papa. I didn't answer though, I had already jumped out the back to run to the fallen man. "Samira!" She cried, then I heard Papa scream for me to come back as he chased after me.

I fell to my knees beside him to see his eyes had drifted closed. He looked dead at first glance, but I could see his chest rise and fall as he breathed. I sighed in relief that he was at least alive. Then I noticed all his wounds – his black robe and clothes were ripped to shreds and stained with blood. "Oh gods." I gasped wondering if the blood was his or someone else's. Had he killed someone? His face was covered in sweat, what sweat he could still give off, he was severely dehydrated. I could tell by his cracked open lips which had been bleeding. He had the Medjai tattoos on his cheeks and forehead so I knew he was a soldier. A deserter, maybe. "Can you hear me?" I asked softly pulling his face over towards mine.

"Samira, do not touch him." Papa ordered as he fell on the other side of him and he pushed me away.

"Papa, he needs help."

"Medjai?" He said prying the man's eyelids up hoping he would come around if the sunlight hit his eyes. "What is your name, Medjai?"

"Ka…men…." Was all we could understand.

I picked up the water jug I had strapped to my waist and lifted it above his mouth letting it slowly fall. I didn't want to drown him. He coughed some back up, but he swallowed the rest. He looked up to me then and I could see both remorse, as if he had done something that weighed heavy on his mind, and the gratefulness that I had come to his aid rather than letting the caravan keep driving. His hand slowly came up to my cheek and I wanted to flinch away afraid that he would actually hurt me, but he only tucked my hair that was dangling over my face as I looked down at him back behind my ear. "Thank you." He whispered before falling unconscious.

I looked back up to Papa. "We cannot leave him to die."

Papa was a holy man and I knew he would never condemn anyone to death, even a murderer. He never did the gods' work, no matter how much he wanted to. So he lifted him up and carried him to the wagon, then carefully set him down beside my brother and I. I let his head rest on my lap while he slept and I washed his face, hands and feet of all the dirt and sweat that he piled up on his skin during his long journey through the desert.

It wasn't until the next day that he regained consciousness and even then it was only for a few minutes. He woke and I heard him kick something which startled me. I turned to see him staring back at me. Quickly I crawled over with the jug of water and poured some carefully into his mouth. He smiled at me in gratitude and I offered him a small bowl of soup, but he declined. He was too tired to eat. He soon fell asleep again without saying a word to me. Then he woke again later that night while we were all sleeping. My brother and I were cuddled up together by the fire with the rest of the caravan beside our parents. At some point he had made his way outside and when I woke he was climbing back inside looking a little refreshed. Thinking back on it, now that I knew he had been a vampire the whole time, he probably had snuck out to go feed.

I got up and walked over to the wagon to make sure he was alright. Even then I was drawn to him and I didn't even know him yet. He could have been a murderer and it would have been so easy for him to kill me. But somehow I knew I was safe with him, from the moment I realized he was a Medjai, and the first time he looked up at me, I knew he wouldn't hurt me.

"Are you alright?" I asked coming up behind him. He quickly spun around to face me startled and sat down with a small smile realizing it was only me. He nodded. "What is your name?"

"Kamenwati." He answered softly.

"Samira." I replied to be polite.

"You are the one who found me, and I thank you."

I shrugged. "Had anyone else in this caravan seen you they would have done the same." It was true, we were all related, and most were priests or priestesses and would sacrifice a lot to save someone else's life.

"Still, you deserve my gratitude and you have it."

I smirked in appreciation, feeling like it was a little undeserved. I was a shy child. "You probably want to go back to sleep…" I said and began to turn away ready to leave him alone. He was a stranger and no matter how I felt around him, I should have left him alone as much as possible.

"It's a beautiful night." He announced quietly looking up at the stars through the back opening. I stopped and looked as well. It was beautiful…dark and clear. The stars seemed brighter than usual. It made me feel closer to the gods, like they were paying close attention now that the sky was so clear.

"It is beautiful." I agreed, then I tried to elave again. I was still tired and wanted to go back to bed.

"Samira." He called. Apparently he wasn't going to let me go back to bed yet. So I turned to face him yet again curiously. I tried to hide the small amount of fear. Soldier, or not, I didn't know him. I couldn't trust him.

"How did you get those wounds?" I blurted out. Once I realized what I had said I sealed my mouth wishing I hadn't spoken so boldly, but the words just flew out of my mouth without thinking. My curiosity got the best of me.

He laughed at my innocence. His reply was, "I was sent with my regiment to Nubia to fight. I am the sole survivor."

"How did you get away if the rest of your men were killed?" I asked.

"I ran." He answered picking his nails in shame. He was a deserter, though his life had depended on it. Deserters were looked down on and he assumed I would judge him for it as well. "I ran as fast and as hard as I could until I had nothing left, which is when you found me…Where were we, by the way?"

"Abydos." I answered. We had found him just outside of Abydos. If he had come from Nubia, he'd travelled a long way.

"Abydos…how far north are you going?"

I shrugged my shoulders and looked back to the fire to where my parents lay curled up under a blanket. "I do not know, I would have to ask my father." I told him, then added, "Where are you headed?"

His answer was, "Memphis."

"I will tell my father…you should rest." I turned away again and this time he didn't stop me. I went back to my blanket and curled up beside my brother comfortably. I hard time falling back to sleep as I kept thinking about him and the way he looked at me. It almost seemed like he knew me. He didn't speak to me as if I were a stranger. He wasn't cautious enough. Or was he just very trusting of the girl who saved his life? I couldn't be sure.

The next morning Mama woke us up and helped us load our things back on the wagon. When I threw my first load up I noticed he was watching me. In surprise, I shrank back and quickly hurried over to where the fire had been – now it was a black, wet, and sizzling pit. I confronted Mama.

"Mama, can I talk to you?"

It was not a rare occasion that I wanted to talk, but it was rare that I wanted to talk to her. I usually went to my father for religious guidance. However, I needed a woman's answer. "What is it?"

How could I say this without her worrying that the man in the back of the wagon was a lecher? How could I ask her about the way he was looking at me? Because I wanted to know what he was thinking, and Mama was an expert on men as an entertainer. Men watched her every day. She waited patiently staring me down and I soon became nervous. I couldn't ask. "It's not important." I told her and picked up another load of blankets and belongings to take back to the wagon. I climbed inside and looked up to the brown eyes that were glued to my face. "Why do you look at me as if you know me? I never forget a face, and I know I have never met you before."

My words seemed to hit a place deep inside and he flinched turning his eyes away quickly. "Forgive me." He stared at the floor for a while, even after the caravan started moving again.

Soon, Papa peeked back to us and eyed me. I knew he had something to say, and he looked concerned. "Sweetheart, are you alright?"

"Yes, Papa." I answered as sincerely as I could. He gave me a testing look wanting to make sure I wasn't lying. "Really." I added, and finally he nodded then turned away. It was then that the man looked to me again with the same concern. Why would he be concerned about me, when we just met a few days ago? Then I remembered I was supposed to tell my father that he needed to ride with us until Memphis. I crawled forward between him and my brother to get to the front. "Papa, there is one thing I wanted to tell you." I said sticking my head through the flap in between my parents. He looked down to me curiously. "He asked if we could take him to Memphis."

"Memphis? That is days away." He hadn't expected him to stay, and I didn't blame him. We all thought he would get back on his feet and leave. Frankly, I was nervous, and part of me hoped Papa would say no and not allow him to stay, however I knew Papa would never deny kindness to anyone. He was far too good. He sighed, "I suppose, Memphis is on the way."

Somewhat upset that he had agreed I returned to the wagon in silence and curled up in a corner staring at the floor. It was scary to think how strange he was already acting towards me and how much worse it could get in a week. I looked back to him long enough to tell him the news. "Papa agreed."

"Thank you."

The couple days passed with little interaction between us. I was too nervous and weary to confront him. He would ask me how I was, and he asked me small things about my life; what it was like growing up, and what were some of my happy memories. He never asked me about anything that could upset me, he always asked about what made me happy. He was a tender man, which surprised me.

Then one day we while we were driving we were raided. Soldiers halted our caravan and looted our wagons looking for food and water that they could take with them. It was frightening and for the first time I saw him raise a harmful hand. He hid me in the wagon, then confronted them. He drew his sword to fight off those who were supposed to be his brothers, but he didn't fatally wound any of them, only disarmed. Once he started fighting back, so did the men in the family. He came back to check on my brother and I who were huddled up together. We were alright. He looked relieved, and walked away allowing our parents to check on us.

After that day he began teaching me how to fight back. I informed him that those kind of raids happened more often than he would think, so he decided I needed to learn some self defense. He taught me how to throw a knife. The knives he had on his person were long and jagged, made to do the upmost damage. Then he had his sword. As a dancer, I found I could learn how to fight fairly easily. I could kick, and I had quick reflexes. He was impressed. It was then that I started to trust him and feel safer around him. We practiced every day.

One day, only two days before we were to arrive in Memphis and part ways, he came up to me after practice wishing to talk. I could tell something had been weighing heavy on his mind for the past days.

"I apologize for my behavior since I have met you, Samira." He said looking me in the eye. As I looked into his I could almost feel the sincere empathy and emotion pouring from him into me. It was overwhelming and I had to take a deep breath. "I feel as if I have known you forever."

"You do?" I said and I could hear the shakiness in my own voice as I spoke. I hadn't meant to sound so insecure, but these feelings flowing through me were getting the best of me. They were taking over my body and I couldn't control them.

His hand came up to my cheek just as it had when he first saw me leaning over him. His knuckles brushed across my skin on their way to my ear where he tucked my bangs, then surprising me he leaned in and kissed the skin he had just caressed. I felt my lungs cease and I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. Every part of me froze, I could only feel and it felt like cool water on my skin after having been deprived of water for days in the desert. It felt…good, and it sent shivers down my spine. When he pulled away I finally let out the breath I had been holding and opened my eyes.

"That was too forward." He said seeing the surprise on my face. However, it was not surprise that he had done something wrong, but surprise that I liked it.

I shook my head wanting to reassure him that I was not upset. "No." I knew I should have been upset, any lady would be, but I couldn't be. I wanted him to do it again. I wanted to test this feeling, to see if it was just from having being kissed for the first time – even if it was not on my lips – or if it was truly him.

"I suppose I thought with only one more full day with you, I was running out of time to show you how I feel."

My stomach fluttered and my heart soared. This was a moment I had often dreamed about. Every woman dreams of finding a man she loves, for love is rare. My parents were lucky that they found each other, but I always worried I wouldn't. My future was the same as my mother's, a dancer to earn the coins the men throw at us. Usually dancers end up with a wealthy benefactor who loves their beauty and the way they move, rather than their heart. We become property. Could this really be happening? Could I end up happy?... "You love me?" I whispered in tears. I tried to suck them back, but I was so overwhelmed.

"I do."

Hearing his confirmation I fell to pieces and the tears started flowing down my face. I looked up to the starry sky which was still as clear as it had that night we finally had a conversation. I wanted to thank the gods for granting me this feeling. I had been so afraid I would never feel this way. I couldn't understand where it came from, how I had come to love him, but I knew the moment he kissed my cheek that I did. I had to be, no other emotion could explain this.

He watched me patiently looking touched by my reaction. I hadn't gone running the other way. When I looked back at him he smiled happily because I was smiling. He even had tears in his eyes, though they had yet to fall. He quickly wiped them away. Men never cried. I had never even seen my father cry. I was sure he did, just not in front of us.

"I do not know what to say." I whispered.

"You do not have to say anything." He replied wiping away my tears with his thumb. The way he touched my face was so gentle, even the way he looked at me, like I was as fragile as a flower. He was afraid of bruising my petals, and I loved him for that. Most men came rushing in, caring only about themselves. Then he took my hand and led me back to the wagon. We had to get back before my father got worried and noticed we were away together. He would never allow this man to be so close to his young daughter who was still a child in some ways. We parted ways, he returned to the wagon alone and I cuddled up by the fire with the others. But I couldn't sleep. I had too much on my mind, too many feelings flooding my heart.

Hours passed by and I knew I was the only one still awake. I crawled away careful not to wake anyone and I climbed into the wagon. He was lying there alone, and I thought he was asleep until he slowly lifted his head, which was now absent his veil. I could see his long curly hair that fell to his shoulders, and his full masculine face for the first time. He was gorgeous.

"Samira?"

I held up a hand not wanting him to say anything. I wasn't sure what I was doing, or why, but I felt compelled to do it. I was drawn to him. I crawled over and sat before him on my knees. "I…" I sighed trying to think of what to say. "I do not understand this." I admitted and I knew saying that made me sound even more childish. He was a man, he probably had plenty of experience with women who were older than I was and more experienced themselves. I was petrified to sit here, but I couldn't leave.

He smirked amusingly and sat up completely. For the first time I wasn't looking up at him, he was the same height as I was. He cupped my face gently and studied me for a moment, only my face. Not once had his eyes dropped to take notice of my thin, hourglass figure, my bosom, or any part of me that men find appealing. He always looked in my eyes. If only all men were like that. Then they dropped to my lips and I felt my breath hitch knowing what was coming. He looked back up to my eyes waiting for permission. I couldn't speak, but I didn't deny him, so he leaned forward until our lips met. I gasped and tensed, but he stayed relaxed against me. His lips tender on mine, slowly pressing harder against my own until our mouths were one. He held my face in place while his lips began to move against mine so he could taste them.

When he pulled away it took another minute before I could manage the control to open my eyes. I was waiting for my reaction. He wanted to know if I was disappointed, upset, or satisfied and happy. I still couldn't speak, I couldn't even think of what I might say. So instead, I did the only thing I could do. I leaned forward and kissed him as he had kissed me. I didn't know what to do with my hands, though, so they fell to my sides. Soon I felt him take my hands and place them on his chest to grip his shirt. I did as he wanted and grabbed him pulling him closer to me. I wanted to feel him against me, I wanted to get lost in this feeling of cool relief against my hot skin. His hands returned to my face, one caressing my cheek, the other ran through my hair then gripped the back of my head to hold me in place as he deepened the kiss granting me a better taste of him. It was sweeter than I had expected.

Before moving further, he pulled away. He wanted to know for sure that I wanted this. He took my hand again and moved it up to his face wanting to feel my touch. He leaned into it, and in complete satisfaction he gasped opening his mouth. I brushed my thumb across his bottom lip. His eyes never opened as he kissed the palm of my hand. I fell even more in love with him due to how gentle he was being. I leaned forward resting my forehead on his and finally his eyes opened to see mine. He slid my hand back down to his chest then opened it allowing some skin to appear, then he placed my hand there underneath his shirt wanting to feel my touch on a more intimate part of him. I obliged nervously, my hand shaking, and sweaty. He didn't seem to mind, he merely pulled me in for another kiss and laid me down. Now I became even more nervous and I stopped kissing him for a moment realizing what we were about to do. I knew only that it was forbidden until marriage, and that it was what made children. That was all Mama had told me. I had heard her and Papa on more than one occasion and I was never sure if the noises she made were of pain or not. Then I wondered, if it hurt why did she do it? Why would Papa hurt her?

"Are you alright?"

I nodded quickly, and he could tell I was unsure. It was too quick. "Yes…I mean…I – I"

He sat up and stopped touching me which I didn't want. I sat up with him wanting to reassure him that he hadn't done anything wrong. I touched his arm keeping his attention so he would withdraw from me completely.

"I am just nervous." I told him knowing how ridiculous and cowardly I sounded, but it was the truth. "And by nervous, I mean – "

"Scared?" He finished for me. I nodded. "I would never hurt you, Samira, nor force you to do something like this."

"I am still young – "

"I know."

"No." I said, he didn't know. My youth and virginity weren't what worried me, it was my inexperience. "I mean I am young in comparison."

"I see." He sighed now understanding my fears. I didn't want to disappoint him. This was serious and I loved him, I wanted to do it right. "Perhaps, then we should not continue."

"I want this."

"I want you to understand that this may be what lovers do, but it is not love." He would love me even without my body. I knew what love was. It was your soul mate, your other half with whom you were who you were meant to be. It wasn't physical, it was spiritual.

I smiled reassuring him and kissed him again, first on the cheek where his tattoo was, then his lips. "I understand." I said before kissing him a second time. He then laid me back down. He pulled away leaving me to stare up at him while he removed his robe and his shirt allowing me to see his bare chest. It was smooth and as dark as his face even though it saw far less sun. I hesitated to touch it, but I did. I couldn't resist. Then I leaned up and kissed his skin wanting to feel it against my lips. It was soft. Spurred on my boldness he pulled me back to his lips and laid over me pressing his body firmly to mine. I felt so small under his large, muscular body. But he was so gentle despite looking as if he could snap me in half. He kissed down my neck to my chest. I held my breath again knowing he was close to somewhere only I had seen. His finger traced my cleavage and hemline of my dress to the strap holding it up on my shoulder. He slid it down my arm, then the other. I closed my eyes trying not to look scared as he pulled it down to expose what men craved. I half expected him to walk away with disappointment. I wasn't as voluptuous as other girls my age. However, he didn't turn away. He merely continued kissing down my body as he slid the dress further until it was off and I was completely nude below him. Once he tossed it aside, he sat up again to remove the rest of his clothes before resting above me again.

The one thing that I did expect and was ready for was the pain. I tried not to cry out like a coward, not wanting him to view me as weak, and also not wanting anyone to hear me. If we got caught...i didn't even want to think about what would happen. He would die. My father – my all merciful father – would castrate him and then behead him. So I bit my finger trying not to make a sound.

He kissed my cheek and whispered soothingly against my ear. Judging by the way he was acting, how calm he was, I knew this was normal, and it would go away. I just had to wait and try to relax. I knew he would not hurt me on purpose. He waited patiently for me to relax under him. When I let go of my finger, which I had bit hard enough to draw blood, he kissed me again tenderly and began moving. It still hurt with the first few strokes, but it eventually became easier. The satisfaction on his own face made me satisfied, and it helped me stay calm. I felt loved, and beautiful, and worthy. I felt like a woman, rather than a child.

As much as I wanted to fall asleep in his arms, when it was over I returned to and left him there alone, but he was satisfied at least. He kissed me goodnight and sleep came so much easier after that. The next day we found a way to sneak away, telling Papa he was still teaching me, when in actuality we were sneaking away to make love. This time I was much more comfortable with myself and with him, I was bolder and let myself enjoy it more. The pain did not return and I felt emboldened, like a goddess. I surprised myself with the way I moaned and cried out for him wanting more, and the way I moved with him. It was perfect. I thought it was too good to be true. It had to be a sin, but I didn't care. I couldn't stop.

However, we had to eventually and we returned. The next day we parted ways and I knew I would never see him again. It broke my heart to realize that we had never been meant to be together, or else he would not have left me. I cried myself to sleep for months, then I realized I was with child and I cried harder. I was alone and in trouble. When my father found out he was furious and was tempted to go looking for Kamenwati. He would give him an ultimatum, either marry me and take care of the child, or face death. I knew which he would have chosen, but we never saw him again. I gave birth to a daughter in the wagon where she had been created. The moment I saw her face I saw him, and I cried. She had his eyes and his nose. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Then I lost her too.

As I came back to reality I realized I was crying. I quickly wiped my tears away.

"You always did want to be seen as strong rather than cowardly." He said as if he still knew me.

"I lost you once." I said. "I thought I was going to die, and then I lost the only part of you I had left." I gestured toward the throne room where Tali was. I could hear her laughing. "I can handle losing your love, I know that can never be resurrected, but I cannot make myself let you go completely. I never could."

He sighed realizing he wasn't going to get the easy way out. The truth was there was no easy way out. We had to find some kind of middle ground to make this work. Finally he nodded agreeing with me. "I will not inflict more pain on you."

I nodded gratefully and kissed him on the cheek before returning to Godric who would be awake soon.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30: Wedding day. **

**Another long one. Thankyou to DarkAngel again and MrsSkarsgard for reviewing, I appreciate it, and I will wait for you reviews before updating again. **

When Samira returned to our room, I think she had expected me to be asleep, but I wasn't. I was sitting on the bed that I had had a hard time sleeping in thinking of how to confront her about her conversation with Bakari, or Kamenwati, or whatever his name was. I began to wonder which one was real, or were they both aliases.

She knew something was wrong the moment she walked in the room. It had been a short conversation, but an intimate one. It was obvious she was still holding onto her feelings for him, and she was afraid to let them go. How was i supposed to handle that?

"What's wrong?" She asked in concern.

I raised my head to look at her and I hesitated not wanting to lose my temper, so I spoke slowly. "I heard you – your conversation with him."

"Were you spying on me?"

Her accusation was enough to make me lose my control and I snapped yelling at her as I jumped off the bed. "You love him, Samira!"

"Of course I do!" She yelled back. "I am not like you, Godric! The man that took away my innocence was gentle and kind, and he loved me. He is not Appius!" She screamed the last sentence at the top of her lungs, perhaps hoping someone else would hear and come barging in to save her from having to have this argument. She knew it had been bugging me since I found out about him. I knew it was childish to act this way, but I so badly wanted to be the only man in her heart, and I couldn't be. I would always have to share with him.

"You do not have to share me." She said sounding disgusted with the word. "I will not betray you, do you not understand that? It is possible to love more than one person. He is here, Godric, and that is not going to change, and he is the father of my daughter, I have to have some kind of relationship with him whether you like it or not and I would appreciate if you would at least acknowledge that you are not the only one having a hard time with it." She said through angry tears then she left the room slamming the door behind her.

I sat there alone for a moment pondering what I should do. We came here for a reason and tonight we would become part of the 'family' as they said. What all that entailed I didn't know, but I was ready to find out for her sake. Or should I just take her away from all of this and more importantly from him? Then again, I'd also be taking her away from her daughter. She had thought she'd lost her forever, I couldn't just crush her hopes that she could get a second chance at being Tali's mother. That was a wound that needed healed. Perhaps, so was the wound he had left. Taking her away wouldn't heal it, it would only make it worse. I'd only be cutting her deeper by prying her away from him before they made amends. Perhaps, that was what angered me the most, was that the decision had already been made and I couldn't change it. It was out of my hands.

(Samira's POV)

I ran from the bedroom down the hall searching for the temple. I could smell the incense and that scent is what I followed through the halls until I found. I ran inside and fell to my knees before the giant golden statue of Isis, the woman who had helped me save Godric's life, finally allowing myself to cry and look weak before my gods who would comfort me. I had so much pent up sadness and anger at being put in this situation that I let out a harsh cry just to get it out as I let my head fall to the ground.

"Help me…please…I cannot do this on my own."

I felt something strange then, someone standing beside me. I lifted my head and looked over to see a woman dressed in an elegant white dress with a crown on her head. I knew it was her. She gave me a sympathetic smile and knelt down beside me. "You are an interesting one." She said softly. "So many emotions and conflictions, so much love, even for a man who left you with his child."

"He did not know." I whispered in Kamenwati's defense as I wiped my face of the blood.

"Yet you wish to not love him anymore, so that you can devote all of your heart to Godric."

"I just want the resentment between them gone."

"Samira, that's how men show you they love you – they fight over you. Kamenwati fought for your life when you were raided by those soldiers, and Godric has fought for you on multiple occasions. They are not the sort for telling us, they prefer to show us and when we question their actions they get angry. Men are simple, foolish creatures."

I nodded agreeing with her. It took Godric a while before he actually said the words that he loved me, and Kamenwati never actually put the words together himself, he merely answered my question when I asked him if he loved me. He showed me by laying me down and pouring it into me, like Godric. They were more alike than they realized. Though, Kamenwati was a gentler sort than Godric. Godric had that dark side to him, the side of him that dominated his life before he met me. It was still there – the predator –but it was dormant. I often wondered when it would wake up.

"You are not suffering alone. He loves you and you would only make his pain worse by no longer suffering with him. There is strength in suffering together."

"How can I make Godric understand?"

"He has to accept it in his own time."

"Samira?" I heard from behind me. I knew the voice before I even turned around. It was my soldier, my hero, as I used to call him after he saved my life. I had to let go of that fantasy, but whenever I looked at him that was who I saw even though he looked older now, which I didn't understand. How was that possible? He had told me he was twenty-one, and he looked it, now he looked to be at least a decade older than that. Was that one of his gifts, I wondered, to look as young or old as he pleased, to still age rather than being frozen in time? And if so had he just used that gift to seduce me knowing if he had looked as old as he does know I might not have been as attracted to him?

"I heard you scream." He asked abruptly stepping forward. I wiped away my tears before I turned to look at him. He sighed seeing the bloodstains on my cheeks and he quickly assumed the worst. "Did he hurt you?"

I laughed to myself amused that he would care so much about someone else hurting me as if he never had.

He replied, "What is so funny?"

"You." I answered. "Your concern for my pain, as if you never inflicted any yourself."

"How many times must we go through this?"

"You had a choice!" I blurted not wanting to hear the same old excuse that he had to leave because he was under orders and didn't know that I was pregnant. "You could have stayed, or taken me with you, I would have left. I would have gone anywhere you asked me to, I would have done anything had it meant being spared the pain of watching you walk away as if you never loved me."

"If I took you with me, you would have only met this fate sooner and I could not bear that thought. I was trying to keep you safe from this world, because you deserved a better life. I knew that this is not what you would have wanted, and the only reason you want it now is because you have no other choice!"

"You are a fool." I whispered. Did he really think that low of my devotion? Did he really not understand my feelings for him at all? Or did he just think me that weak? I would have done anything he asked of me if he promised never to leave my side again.

"All men are fools in love." Isis remarked.

"That is not an excuse." I retorted and he looked at me curiously then looked around the room.

"Who are you talking to?"

He couldn't see her? Oh gods, I thought, please don't let me be going insane. Isis laughed from where she sat on the base of her own statue behind me. "You are not insane. Only you can see me because I want it that way."

Rather than answering I pointed to her. He looked up at the statue's face. The tall standing woman with a throne for a headdress atop her head. "Isis?"

"She speaks to me." I said honestly. I wanted to see if he would judge me, think me crazy, or if he would believe me. It was a test. "I prayed to her in Britain for help in saving Godric's life so that we could escape and she answered. Now she has returned to answer another prayer."

"And what might that be, pray tell?" He asked in his cool and smooth voice, with the slight humor that I fell in love with. He was always smiling, I remembered, and always making little remarks to lighten the mood.

"To end my suffering." I whispered. I could harldy look him in the eye as I said it because my suffering was my love for him, and he could see it.

"Oh…I see." He always understood me. I always felt like he could see past my eyes into my soul and read everything within me no matter how hard I tried to keep him out. That was something that took Godric years to do, and he had done it from the day we met.

I didn't want to hurt him. But I had to. I had to rid myself of this. "I wanted this to work, but Godric will not allow it as long as I love you. He will not let me love you both, even if I do love him more. I cannot make him understand, nor make him suffer through it, which leaves me with one choice."

"Leave him?" He suggested trying to sound funny again, but it wasn't funny at all. It was an awful thing to say.

"I will not!"

"Samira, if he does not trust you – "

"Oh and you do?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

I answered the only way I knew to make it sink into his brain the most. He remembered every song, every move I made when I danced because he was so entranced and it made it that much easier for him to see my soul the way he did because it brought out my raw emotions. So I sang the words I had written once not long after he left me. It had always been my way of venting. "Share my life, take me for what I am. Cuz I'll never change all my colors for you. Take my love, I'll never ask for too much. Just all that you are and everything that you do. I don't really need to look very much further. I don't want to go where you don't follow. I won't hold back again, this passion inside. Can't run from myself, there's nowhere to hide. Don't make me close one more door. I don't want to hurt anymore. Stay in my arms if you dare, or must I imagine you there? Don't walk away from me. I have nothing, nothing, nothing if I don't have you…you see through, right to the heart of me. You break down my walls with the strength of your love. I never knew love like I knew it with you, will the memory survive? One I can hold onto? I don't really need to look very much farther; I don't want to have to go where you don't follow. I won't hold back again, this passion inside, I can't run from myself, there's nowhere to hide. You're love I remember, forever. Don't make me close one more door, I don't want to hurt anymore. Stay in my arms if you dare, or must I imagine you there? Don't walk away from me. I have nothing, nothing, nothing…don't make me close one more door. I don't want to hurt anymore. Stay in my arms if you dare, or must I imagine you there? Don't walk away from me, no don't walk away from me. Don't you dare walk away from me. I have nothing…nothing…nothing…if I don't have you…" By the end I was crying feeling those emotions flooding through me with the words I used to sing every day.

My words were effective enough to bring tears to his eyes, and not just a few. He fell to his knees before me like I was the goddess standing behind me. Then put his head to the floor begging for forgiveness. He had underestimated my love for him because I was so young. He thought it was just young and foolish love, like all young love, I'd get over it. But he was wrong. I walked to him and knelt before him. I cupped his face making him sit up to face me.

"Forgive me." He cried. "I was a fool…I still am." He added with a small laugh at himself. "I am so sorry."

I hugged him wanting to feel him close to me in some way. I wanted to be rid of him, but it felt too good to be near him. How was I going to do this?

"I will talk to him." He said. "I will try to make him understand that I will stay out of the way." Then he pulled back to look me in the eye again. His hand cupped my cheek after pushing my hair back behind my ear. I leaned into it like I used to and cursed myself for it, but it felt too good to resist. "He has risked everything, given everything to be with you, and he has brought you here knowing the consequences. He deserves you…I do not."

"I will always love you." I told him. I wanted him to know that, to reassure him that no matter what he did to me, no matter how much it had hurt to never see him again, I still loved him as much as I had that final night we had together.

He replied with a soft smile, "I know…" He leaned down to kiss my cheek, but it was lasting, he didn't want to pull away. Then he rested his head in the crook of my neck intimately breathing me in. He was fighting so hard, and I was grateful because this was not easy for me either. But he finally pulled away. "I love you." He said then quickly stood to leave before he changed his mind and took it further.

I knew he was going to talk to Godric so I stayed there waiting. If it ended badly he would come back and tell me, then I would do what I came in here to do and rid myself of the problem.

(Godric's POV again)

I was standing on our balcony when I heard the door open and close. I thought it was her until I turned around and I saw him standing there in the middle of the room staring at me. I knew it was evident, written all over my face, that I resented him for his past with her. It didn't seem to bother him that much.

"We need to talk." He said.

I could see what Samira saw in him. He was tall and handsome, funny, a soldier – someone who could protect her, passionate, and an experienced man. By the way she described him to me, it sounded like she fell in love with him because he took away her innocence - what made her still a child – and turned her into a young woman by loving her. Personally, I thought he took advantage of a young girl. "I have nothing to say to you."

"Yet you have plenty to say _about_ me." I shrugged. What was he getting at? "I ran into Samira who was in tears. She is afraid that by coming here she is subjecting you to pain because of me, and that you will resent her for it."

"Who are you to tell me how she feels?"

"I am the man who broke her heart because I foolishly believed she could not handle the truth. Do not make my mistake, you are better than that. If you were not, you would have left her where you found her, rather than staying by her side and teaching her how to live as one of us. Do not underestimate her as I did. She will get through this; you just have to believe in her."

He had a point. I hadn't given her a chance to prove to me that she could find a way to make this work with the two of us (him and I) under the same roof. I was pushing her away. So I sighed in defeat and asked, "Where is she?"

"I will show you." He said and he opened the door for me then led me down the hall to their personal temple. She was sitting there on the floor in front of a bowl with smoke coming out of it – incense. She was praying. I nodded to him to let him know it was alright and he could go, so he left us alone.

"Love?" I had expected her to spin around to see me, but she ignored me. She stopped mumbling in prayer, but she didn't face me. She wanted to see if I was still going to act foolishly first before she gave me her attention. "I was wrong to accuse you like that. After all these years, I should know that I would never lose you to someone else, even someone from your past. I doubted you, and I am sorry…Please forgive me."

"What would you have me do, Godric?" She asked still not facing me. "To run away with you and go back to Germania?"

I replied, "No. No, I want you to do what you think is right. I will not force you."

"Even if I wish to stay meaning I would be near him?"

I took a deep breath before I answered. "Yes." She had seen this, and I had seen it in our dream. We were meant to be here.

Finally, she stood and faced me. Slowly, she walked to me and met me in the middle of the room. "Will you accept him? My daughter? Everyone I love, because you trust me when I say that I love you more?"

"Yes."

She smiled happily and kissed me hard with excitement. However, she didn't let herself lose control to passion, because we had an engagement to get ready for. So we walked back to our room and changed. She got ready by putting on her makeup and jewelry that she had been given, while wearing a beautiful new white and gold dress. The same one I saw her wearing in the dream. Once she looked like royalty we walked out into the throne room where they were waiting for us. Bastian and his wife stood side by side atop the stairs while everyone else formed a circle around us.

"It brings me great joy to welcome you into our family. I have waited for this day for centuries…yes, I knew you were coming long before even your grandparents were born." Then his wife took a box from her servant and opened it. Inside was not jewelry as I expected, or crowns, but ink and needles. Tattoo supplies. They were going to brand us. Samira did not seem frightened, she was relaxed and happy, so I relaxed. None of my past experiences in being marked were happy memories, but I was much younger then.

Dorothea picked up the needle and dipped it in the ink muttering something in Egyptian that was strange to me. The needle looked frozen then, light blue, then handed it to her husband. Once he had it in his hand he came closer to me.

"What is this?" I asked curiously. I had to know, I couldn't just assume the best before they marked me. Vampires healed, how was it possible for us to have marks?

"The mark we are giving you is a symbol of royalty, authority, importance. It means you are one of us."

"How is it possible – "

"Even we do not understand it, but I saw this design and this box in a dream I had not long after I was turned. I found the box buried in the last king's tomb. Not long after that is when my maker and I made this Palace and proclaimed ourselves the Authority using this mark as our own. It was the same mark the kings and queens put on each other when they wed. Now you will do the same." He finished and handed me the needle-point feather.

"You are marrying us?" I said.

"Do you not wish to be married?" Dorothea asked curiously. It made no sense to her. We loved each other, why wouldn't we want to be married and bound to eachother for eternity. I thought we already were, really, just without the officiality of marriage. Samira looked to me waiting for me to say yes. She wanted this, and I couldn't object. I just never thought about it. But I nodded and they smiled happily. He handed it to me and we faced each other. She was ready for it, but I was hesitant. I didn't want to cause her pain. It could burn it into her skin for all I knew. But I did it and was stunned to see it didn't hurt her at all. I traced the pattern that I saw on their necks – the one I saw in the dream – carefully. I was never much of an artist. Theirs, I noticed went all the way around front and back, but they had stopped me before I did the back. Their reason was that we were not as high up in the authority as they were, only the king and queen had front and back as they were the head of the family. So I handed it over to her and she marked me. It felt like she was writing on my skin rather than marking me. Somehow the ink magically sank into me on its own.

When it was over we took each other's hands and Bastian married us. All the anger I had felt earlier washed away and I was completely happy and content.

**Yay, they're married! Finally!...So what do you think about how Godric reacted towards Bakari? Did he overreact or was he justified in not trusting him for the simple fact that he too is in love with Samira? **


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31: Shared Enemy**

**Roughly 30 AD  
>Thanks for the reviews! They were great! Anyone else reading this? Please let me know! You guys used to review, and I know people have this on their alerts…<strong>

After the ceremony, we all stayed there in the throne room, just talking like we were all old friends, which was kind of nice. Samira and I shared what he had been through since we met, and I shared some of what I had been through beforehand. I even admitted about my maker and how I had killed him which even Bastian commended me for. He said that took great strength that most progenies don't have. I was worried they'd look down on me for it, but they were proud of me. Bastian told us about his life, how he had come to be a vampire and how he met his maker.

Bastian had already told us of his close friendship to Samira's ancestor Meri-Amen who was his teacher and the Pharaoh's royal scribe – the pharaoh of the time being Sesostris I. When he grew up he became a priest, and eventually one of the two high priests, he served Ra and the other served Atum, the creator. One day the pharaoh was holding a celebration for his son, Amenemhat II who would later become the next pharaoh, and his maker attended. In fact he seemed to be a close friend of the royal family, yet he had never seen him before. He asked to speak to the two priests and pharaoh allowed it. They left the party and went somewhere to speak privately. For some reason he was not interested in the other priest, but Bastian had potential. He offered Bastian the chance for real power, to serve the pharaoh and the gods more diligently, and to serve the people like a god. In order to convince him, his maker showed off his own skills by cutting Bastian's arm with a knife and then healing it. Bastian believed him to be Nefertem at first, the god of healing and beauty for his maker was also very handsome, and looked to be only about twenty-five years old or so. He said he had been waiting for someone to come along who was worthy and when Bastian agreed he took him out that night and turned him. Because Bastian could walk in the sun he stayed with the pharaoh and stayed a priest until his agelessness was becoming too obvious then he faked his death and left the palace to go with his maker into the desert.

They lived together for a long time like that, just Bastian, his maker, his maker's brother, and his progeny who happened to be Dorothea, however she didn't come along for a while. Dorothea said she came from the reign of Mentuhotep V who ruled during the fourteenth dynasty (between 1650 – 1550 BC). They lived good lives, their makers were good to them, taught them everything they needed to know about being good people, and still being human in some ways. They married Bastian and Dorothea themselves. Together they shaped Egypt's future, helping the gods place pharaohs on their thrones, as Bastian had told Samira he helped place her ancestors on the throne a few times.

When I asked Bastian about his maker he said he was as old as the dynasties. His maker was the disciple named Set, who was one of the brothers that went to Europe to spread vampirism. Set turned both his maker and Dorothea's. After talking about our lives, Bastian turned to Samira wanting to know how she was doing.

"How was last night? Did you sleep well?" Bastian asked her. I was actually surprised that we were both able to sleep all night with no problems. If she had any dreams, they must have been good ones, or not bad enough to cause her any trouble.

She thought it over for a moment, because he seemed to know something we didn't. He had a sly grin on his face when he asked. "Yes, actually."

Without telling us what he knew to cause him to smile like that he just went on. "Tell me something." He said. "What is it that you crave? Human blood? Animal blood? Dead blood?"

"Animal…I have been feeding on animals, until I got here. The gods told me not to drink from what belongs to them."

"I see. You are like your daughter, then." He gestured over to her. She looked happy as she laughed at something. "Tali has the same craving."

Samira looked over to Tali then curiously who was talking to her father and not paying attention. However, Bakari kept glancing over trying to catch glimpses of our conversation to make sure everything was alright, I suppose. Now that Samira was officially mine I swallowed my pride and let him look all he wanted just so he could feel the guilt that he let her go and could never have her again.

"So then like Tali, I take it with the animal blood in your system your powers are stronger? And without it they progress slowly and hurt less?"

Samira nodded. "What should I do?"

"Well." He sighed. "If you are the same as your daughter, which I imagine you are, then if you stay on the animal blood all of your powers will manifest within the next five years or so, but it will not be pleasant. Or you could do the opposite and choose a different diet in which case it could take up to a century before you are fully…mature."

"How do you figure?" I asked curiously. Who was he to judge how long it would take if she didn't do as Tali did, which she didn't want to do. I was actually surprised Bakari let Tali go through something like that. Wasn't he worried about her every night when she cried out in pain? Some father…Hearing my thoughts she glanced over at me sternly. She didn't like my insulting her ex-lover, so I nodded apologizing and quickly turned my thoughts towards something else. The animal blood to her was like human blood for me, it turned her into something she didn't like and it had harsh effects. So we were hoping to keep her off of it, but it was going to take another century that way…

He replied seriously, "Because that is what I did. My craving was like all vampires, so I chose to feed off the dying. Since they were still alive, it satisfied my thirst, but like you it had effects and intensified my abilities. My maker suggested that I change my diet by waiting for their hearts to stop beating. He was right, and feeding off the dead made it easier, but it took over half a century – about seventy years – before all my powers had manifested and I could start training to master them."

"And since I have more it will take even longer." She added. Bastian was strong and powerful, he could walk in the sun like Samira due to their shared ancestor (Ra), he could read minds like her, and see the future – but his vision was limited. Now that I thought about it I didn't know what else he could do. I didn't even know what his wife, Dorothea could do, or Bakari, or anybody for that matter. It made me nervous all of a sudden to be surrounded by all these magical people, let alone living with them now, and not knowing what they can do.

Bastian heard me thinking about it and she smiled. "Most likely." He said answering Samira's question.

Getting back to the problem at hand I was curious and asked, "Is there a middle ground?" I was afraid to ask because I was sure I knew the answer. There were only three options, and if animal blood was the harsh option and dead blood was the easy one, then would feeding off the living put her somewhere in the middle where it wouldn't hurt her so much, but it wouldn't take a century either?

"I am not sure if that would work." He replied.

"I would not do it anyway, even if the gods would allow it." She told me. She wouldn't be a monster who killed. She'd stay on the blood of the dead and wait it out. If it took a century so be it. We had forever anyway, she was in no hurry. I was just worried about Hagan and the others. Eventually they would find out we were here, and he would do anything to get his revenge. He knew what she was, even if his progeny didn't believe she was special. So if it took a century for her to grow strong enough to defeat them, then I was worried. What could happen between then and now? Anything.

"We will protect her from Hagan." Bastian promised. "Hagan is our enemy as well, as he is one of the only surviving members of the former European authority that we went to war with nearly nine-hundred years ago."

"That's why you hate Europeans." I said. "Why you were so suspicious of me when we met."

He nodded guiltily, he felt bad for treating me that way now, but as king he had to be diligent. "Yes. I had to be sure you were not one of theirs trying to weasel your way into our home. This is our sanctuary; that is why my wife and I changed our names – to hide from them. If they were to find us here, war would surely come again."

"Then why are you letting us stay here, with Hagan searching every part of the known world for us?"

"Because Hagan has separated from the others. He is still a very important and powerful man among the European vampires, but he does not deal in the politics of it all. His wife does so in his stead, while he manages his own affairs."

Samira was shocked and blurted, "He's married?" I knew what she was thinking for once, 'Who would marry him?' I wondered the same thing. He was far too brutal and he had no heart. I felt sorry for his wife, or perhaps she was just as cold and cruel as her husband and they were the perfect killing pair. Either way I never wanted to meet her. Or anyone else attached to that man in any way. However, I doubted he would be rid of him forever. Thankfully, Bastian hated him just as much as we did. He'd have a hard time trying to get to her.

"The war was between my maker Aapep, and his brother who was Dorothea's maker named Khai, and the Europeans who were led by a man named Cadeyrn who was Hagan's maker. Killing Cadeyrn took everything my maker had and the fight left him fatally weakened. He used more power than his body could handle in order to save my life. Dorothea's maker did the same, he killed himself in order to obliterate their army. The only survivors were Hagan, his wife, and his progeny because they fled like cowards."

"I'm sorry." She said softly. Hearing about his maker put a weight on her not knowing who her maker was. That question was always going to haunt her. And I had an odd instinct that we wouldn't like the answer if we ever found out. Then again I wondered if Bastian had done it and just refused to admit it, believing she wasn't ready to know yet. Or if Bakari had done it and didn't want to admit it. Anyone in this place really could have done it…except Tali. Bastian gave me a cold glance for thinking he would be capable of doing such a thing. I cringed back looking down at the floor. It was just a thought, I hadn't meant to insult anyone.

He waved Samira's apology off saying, "It's alright. This is all they wanted." He gestured around them at all the splendor and luxury. "Aapep named me king before he died."

"So this was what they died for?" I asked. "Why? Why not let the Europeans rule?"

"The Europeans have no humanity. They would massacre humans by the masses, even animals. It would be worse than the plagues. They spread with the Roman empire and the last thing we need is a world full of their kind…no offense."

I shrugged. It wasn't like I was full of pride in what I was or who my maker had tried to make me. "None taken." If I could have been one of them rather than what I was, I would. I wished I could take what she was going through onto myself to spare her the suffering.

"The reason I am telling you this is because I want you to understand our way of life and why we live this way." He continued looking at me rather than her. I was the outsider, Samira could easily understand them as a fellow Egyptian. They were very religious. "Humanity was not put on this planet for our entertainment. After all they were here before our kind was. The gods put us here to protect anad guide them, however times are changing and the world the gods created has died. We must keep it alive as best we can while letting the humans grow with the times, so we must be discreet. Do you understand?"

I nodded. We couldn't expose ourselves, the humans couldn't know we existed. It would be chaos. Mass panic. They may have been vampires but they weren't about to treat humans like cattle. After all we were all human at one point, even if they did have god blood running through their veins. They respected humanity, it was to be cherished and protected. They were right that those like me wanted only to massacre humans and create more like themselves. The problem with that theory was eventually there would be no more humans to turn and therefore no more food.

"Exactly." Bastian agreed. "We cannot let that happen."

I understood. And I agreed. I wouldn't be a monster, and I had a lot of sins to atone for, so if this was what they wanted of me I would do it. If it meant being with Samira forever and being safe, I would gladly do whatever they asked of me.

"I'm glad." Bastian told me.

Samira hugged me. She was happy to. She had tried so hard throughout the years to make me understand her way of thinking, her religion, and why she was the way she was. Now that I was finally understanding it, she was ecstatic and relieved. All I had ever understood was the Roman way, which was wrong and cruel, and the Gaul way which was very to the point and could be cruel if need be. Egyptians were only cruel in defense, they didn't believe in offense. I liked that about them.

"One more question." I said before Samira and I retired for the night.

"You want to know what we all can do, yes?" He smirked remembering my thought earlier. I nodded guiltily. Samira was curious too, I could see it in her eyes but she wasn't worried about it like I was. She was overly trusting, which worried me sometimes. "Well, my only active ability that can do any harm to anyone is much like Samira's own magic, except I cannot control the elements as she will be able to do, I can only control storms, including sand storms. That is how I managed to build this palace underground, because when it was built it was above ground." He said cockily with a grin. Samira laughed at his ingeniousness, and I had to agree it was very clever of him to build it and then cause a sand storm so violent to bury it so no one could find it. Then he looked to Bakari. "Care to share your gifts?"

"You saw the bloodlines…" He stated to Samira. "I am a gifted fighter, nothing more. A born warrior."

"Why do I not believe you?" She said cunningly. She stepped closer to him and I could tell his wall was crumbling the closer he got. He couldn't keep anything from her. "If I remember correctly you had Shu in your bloodline, the god of the air."

Bakari smirked like a child who had been caught doing something naughty and laughed. "There you have it, then." He said. "I have that power as well as my ability to be undefeated in battle."

"You can control the air?" I asked unconvinced. How could someone control air?

"Wind can be a very powerful ally like any element." Samira added looking over her shoulder at me.

"That it can…" Bakari muttered also looking at me, and then next I thing I knew I couldn't breathe. I felt like a snake had wrapped around my entire body restricting me and lifted me into the air. I struggled, but I couldn't move. I growled down at him, I didn't appreciate being used for show. He could impress her some other way. He laughed until she gave him a glare also not appreciating him using his powers on me. He stopped laughing and I fell to my feet as I had been dropped. She walked over to me in concern, but I was alright. I glared up at him wishing I had something to use against him. He smirked victoriously and wrapped his arm around his daughter. "Tali can do that too." He said.

"As well as control the other elements, so really my power does not exceed what Mama will be able to do in time."

Good, I thought. Samira was bad enough. I got another unhappy glance from my wife for that thought. It just wasn't a good night for me, I kept getting in trouble. Personally, I thought it was kind of amusing.

"And what about you?" I asked Dorothea who was standing on the steps beside her husband.

"I'm a queen." She stated, "My main duty in this group is being able to prove law and order."

Samira elaborated for me, "Her bloodline had Thoth and Maat, the gods of knowledge and law."

"As well as Geb and Nut." Dorothea added, who I remembered Samira telling me were like the Romans gods Saturn and Ops the married god of the sky and goddess of the earth, only her gods were the other way around – the husband (Geb) was the earth and the wife was the sky. She had asked me once if the Romans believed in anything other than war and I told her they did have gods, they weren't godless heathens as she believed.

"So you can control the earth?" I asked wondering how that could work, but I was careful not wanting her to use it against me as Bakari had done. "And the sky?"

"Well, I could block out the sun with the clouds and make it dark forever if I wanted to, but it's not as if I could make the sky come falling down on us, or make it rain fire."

"I can." Tali chimed in.

"You can?" I asked seriously. I thought Dorothea had just been joking. But Tali nodded. Then again I guess it made sense. Fire was an element and Ra was master of the sun, which was made out of fire. She could probably do anything with fire. She could probably make the sun stop burning.

"No, that would be interfering with the gods." Tali said. "We have limits that we are not supposed to cross without their permission. Or else we would be them, and they would no longer be superior to us." That made sense, I guess. "That includes making it rain fire, that would be a bit obvious and people would suspect something. We are supposed to do small things, not something that would get attention from a lot of people. Blocking out the sun, or causing a sand storm…" She added pointing to the king and queen, "is something that happens every day so no one would get suspicious. But causing it to rain fire would definitely get someone's attention. So even though I _could_...I wouldn't."

"Then why do they allow you all of this power if they are afraid you will overshadow them?" I asked.

Bastian nodded, it was a good question. "For the same reason they gave it to the disciples, so we would be superior to our adversaries and to the people we ruled."

"You can be superior with simple gifts like seeing the future, or reading their minds. You do not need to be able to set them ablaze with one look."

"Fair enough." Dorothea said. "But who are we to question their decisions?"

She had me there, and I wasn't about to get into that argument. So I let it go and took Samira's hand telling her I think it was time we went to bed for the day. She agreed and we said goodnight to everyone and went to our room. While I stripped, taking off my shirt I looked down at my new tattoo and I couldn't help but run my hand over it as if checking to make sure it was real. My skin felt normal. When I looked up I saw her standing on the balcony like she had been in my dream. I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her kissing her neck. She was mine and nothing was going to ever take her away from me.

"Is this really the life you want, Godric?" She asked me and I realized I had to relive this moment. Why would she ask when she already knew the answer?

"Love, you saw this moment already. You know my answer."

She turned in my arms to face me. "I want to hear you say it."

My hand cupped her face, my thumb tracing the line of her lips. "Yes."

Satisfied and content she wrapped her arms around my neck burying her face there. "I love you." She whispered.

"I know." I reassured her kissing her cheek. I always knew, and I felt ashamed for ever making her think I didn't with my tantrum earlier. I was surprised she didn't smack me. I deserved it. "I love you, more than I ever thought possible."

She lifted her head then and kissed me gently, but it slowly turned more demanding and more passionate as she wanted more. Like in the dream I picked her up and carried her to our new bed laying her down. Even if Bakari had had her first, I felt satisfied in knowing that from now on no other man would ever get to again. She would never moan for another man, or cry out another man's name. I knew she would never betray me like that.

**Tell me what you think! Next chapter will be a fastforward, because at this time there isnt really much going on other than her still developing, so the next chapter will be a little further in the future when something does happen. **


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32: They Found Us**

**99 AD**

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After spending almost exactly seven decades with them, I felt like a part of the family. I usually didn't let myself get attached to anyone, except her, because I didn't know if this was truly a permanent situation – if we were really going to be here forever. After about the first fifty years is when I noticed that I was getting attached to these people, even Bakari. I had finally gotten over my jealousy of his past with Samira, and we came to an agreement. He was hardly ever in the palace anyway, so that made it easier. I even came to know his entire life story like everyone else's. Of course, he left out the part about the time he spent with her, which I appreciated.

Bakari, like his maker, had worked close with the pharaoh, as a Medjai – a palace guard rather than a soldier out fighting wars. He was in service to Tutankhamun during his short reign and then his successor Ay up until Bastian found him and turned him. Bastian knew a war was coming eventually, the European vampires were spreading and coming south from Europe into Asia, which was their territory, and it still is our territory. Bakari had a choice though, like Bastian had. I asked him if he regretted his decision and wished he could have kept living the life he had and find a woman and have a family and grow old to see his grandchildren, but surprisingly he said no. When I asked him why, he said because there was always something missing in that life, and it was out of reach. He didn't elaborate, but I had an odd instinct that that something was what brought him to Samira.

Samira had successfully remained on her old diet of feeding on the dead making her powers escalate slowly and she was no longer in pain. However, more had come along as Bastian predicted. Her magic from Isis grew stronger allowing her to control more than just fire, but the other elements as well. One by one they bowed down to her. the most recent was earth, which is a hard element to manipulate, as Dorothea warned. However, Samira being Samira she seemed to best it much more easily than Dorothea anticipated. With every years that passes she gets stronger and more comfortable, more able to control her gifts. She also had help though, from the source herself. Isis still had not abandoned her loyal servant. Still, though, only Samira could see her.

I was just happy her visions no longer hurt. She could sleep all night and day without any problems. If she didn't tell me, I would never know she had dreams anymore. Although, there were some I could tell she was keeping from me, which worried me. I didn't want her to hold anything in to herself if it was going to bother her. But I didn't get a say in the matter, she always brushed me off. Then one morning she shot awake and immediately told me what it was out of fear. She shook me awake and the first thing I noticed was that it was still light out, not evening.

"Godric…" She whispered in my ear as she shook my arm. "I saw them."

I swatted her hand away so she'd stop and I rolled over to face her. "Saw who?" I asked groggily wiping my eyes. I was still half asleep.

"The Celts." She answered as if their names alone should be feared. "They found us."

The one thing about her visions though, was that they had no timeline. What she saw could happen today or a thousand years from now. We had no way of knowing. She had seen my death seventy years ago and I still had no intention whatsoever to walk in front of the sun and burn to death. Not as long as I had her, which worried me. Did that mean at some point she was no longer in my future? As soon as I thought it, I shook it off, I couldn't think like that, it'd make me crazy.

"Godric, I am serious." She added shaking me again. I was still laying there, staring up at her, I hadn't moved.

"I believe you." I assured her taking her hands off my arm. Shaking me wasn't going to get her anything. "But, you know what you see does not always happen right now like it did when you saw Hagan coming for us."

"I know." She admitted, but it was still going to bother her. She had been waiting to see them for decades and now she couldn't help but feel threatened.

I sighed taking pity on her. "Alright." I groaned forcing myself out of bed. "I will go deliver the news to Bastian and Bakari so they can come up with some sort of plan." I threw my robe on rather than getting dressed and walked out of the room leaving her in bed.

I walked down the hall to the end where the master bedroom was and knocked on the door hoping they didn't get angry with me for waking them up. Judging by the angle the sun was coming through the window, it was about five o' clock in the afternoon. The sun would go down in a couple more hours, but that was a couple more hours we could have all been sleeping. The door flung open much more gently than I anticipated proving yet again that Bastian had infinite patience.

He was surprised to see me."Godric?"

"Samira's had a vision." I told him. "About the Celts."

"The ones who captured you?"

I nodded.

He looked back over his shoulder to his sleeping wife no doubt, and came out closing the door behind him. "I will go give the order. I will put everyone on alert, we will guard every border, and I will double the guard around the palace."

"Thank you." I said and turned away to go tell Samira so she could relax. We were in safe hands.

"Godric." He called causing me to turn back and face him. "If they are found, we will bring them in and I will punish them for what they did to you, you have my word."

"Bastian there is no punishment." I argued. "Nothing short of death will suffice, for if they live they will tell Hagan we are here and then he will come."

He sighed knowing I was right. He didn't like taking lives, but in this case he had no choice if he truly wanted to keep Samira safe. Hagan's minions could not know she was here, or they had to be caught. Hopefully, before Hagan caught wind of where they were. If he didn't know they were in Egypt when they were murdered, he would be unable to find her. But if he knew they were here and then they suddenly died, he would know they had found something that cost their lives.

I returned to Samira who was lying in bed curled up on her side in tears. I hadn't seen her cry in so long I almost didn't know what to say or do other than curl up behind her and hold her tight and never let her go. I kissed her shoulder and her neck gently trying to be soothing. "It will be alright." I whispered.

She shook her head. "If they know we are here, then so does he."

"They may not know, they could just be looking. They may not find anything and then leave on their own."

"You really believe that?" She asked flatly. She knew I didn't believe a word I had just said, I was just trying to make her believe it. But she saw through it. "They know us…they will find something."

"Bastian is doubling the guard around us, and he is patrolling every possible way into the country. If they have not reached the border yet, they will not be able to even get in, and if they have then at least they cannot get to us here."

"Yes, but we have been to Thebes, and Memphis, and Hamunaptra, and many other cities where they can easily find traces of us."

I rolled her over onto her back then so I could look into her eyes as I warned her, "Samira, you are overestimating them." She was taking her paranoia too far, she needed to let herself relax a little. We were safe.

"I would rather overestimate them and be prepared instead of underestimate them and be caught off guard." She retorted then rolled back on her side away from me to stare out the window.

Seeing that I was not able to comfort her I knew what I had to do, even though I didn't like it very much. If I couldn't persuade her that she was safe, then perhaps someone else who loved her who was the one protecting her by being out there in the desert should tell her. I got up and walked down the hall again, except this time I went straight to the throne room expecting everyone to be in a meeting so Bastian could give his orders, but it was empty. So I turned back and went to Bakari's room. I knocked a few times, but no answer. The only other place I could think of to look, inside anyway, was the temple. He always prayed before leaving on a mission. Luckily, there he was kneeling in front of his ancestor Sekhmet, the goddess of war.

I cleared my throat to get his attention, but I didn't want to be rude and interrupt his prayers by speaking. He seemed undisturbed as if he hadn't heard me come in, but he finished his prayer then stood up with the bowl that had the incense in it and put it out. Then put is sword and his other weapons on. "What is it Godric?" He asked not even looking over his shoulder to me.

"I – I cannot believe I am saying this – "I muttered to myself. "I need your help."

Curiously he turned to look at me to see if I was serious or trying to make some sick joke. But the look on my face was serious and he could tell something was wrong. "What's wrong? Samira – "

"She's fine." I promised. "Well, no she – she's a bit paranoid. I need your help to convince her that the Celts will not get to us. She fears they will find us, if they have not already, and there is nothing we can do to stop them."

"You wish me to speak to her?"

I nodded. I wasn't the type to say please, and he knew it, so a nod was all he needed. He nodded back and walked past me headed for our room. I waited in the hallway giving them a minute, I didn't like it, but I knew if I was there she would be more difficult with him thinking he was only saying those things because I was there. So I sat there on the floor against the door listening, though it was hard to hear through doors made of gold, but he left it open just a crack for me.

(Samira's POV)

"Samira." I heard coming up from behind me and it wasn't Godric's voice. I quickly spun around away from the balcony to face him. I was so upset and afraid of losing all of this, that I couldn't help but run into his arms. I wanted to remember what they felt like around me in case I never felt it again. I always knew this day would come, but now that it had I was starting to doubt whether or not they could truly protect us from Hagan and his neverending supply of minions. Perhaps, it would be safer to leave. We only came here in the first place to help me with my abilities, and I was doing so much better…there was really no need to stay. I wanted to, so much, for the man that was holding me and for our daughter, but by leaving I would be protecting them. If Hagan knew they had supported me, he would hate them even more. If he found out I had a daughter who was like me…I couldn't think of what he would do to her. "Sh…" He whispered as I cried harder just thinking about it.

"I will miss you." I whispered.

He pulled me away after that. "Why would you say that?"

"Bakari, I cannot let him find us here."

"So you will leave?"

"The only reason we came here was because my powers were ruining my life. That is over now. My being here now is only putting the rest of you in danger…it's putting our daughter in danger." I added sadly. "If they find her…"

He cupped my face with his hand soothingly and looked at me like he always did, with love. "I will not let that happen. You know that. I will protect Tali, and I will protect you. Nothing in this world is more important to me than the two of you. I will die before I let them get close to you."

"That's the problem." I cried pushing him away. "You will die! And I cannot have that on my conscience. I cannot let you die for me!"

"Samira, when you came here we promised you we would do everything in our power to keep you safe. There is no where safer, and we will keep that promise. If we find them, they will die."

"And Hagan will know we are here."

"No." He disagreed shaking his head. "By law alone Hagan's minions are not supposed to be in our territory, but we have been lenient throughout the centuries not wanting to ignite another bloody war. If Hagan comes, we could say we finally had enough and we were only abiding the law. You need not even be mentioned."

I knew he was telling the truth, but I couldn't believe that Hagan would actually believe them. After centuries of not keeping to that law and letting them come and go as they please so long as they didn't cause too much trouble, suddenly killing them would seem suspicious to someone like him. Hagan was like me in that he was overly paranoid, he was always on guard, and Godric was usually the same way. It's supposed to be me who is the relaxed one who trusts everybody. How had that gotten switched around?

"Samira, please. Even if Hagan does find you, we will go to war again if we have to. You are family now, we love you." He said taking my hand and kissing it. "Just as I love you. You believe that?"

I nodded. I knew how much he loved me, because I loved him just as much, and I knew that Bastian and Dorothea had come to care about us as if we were the younger siblings they had to watch over. It made me feel like a burden though.

"Everything will be alright, I promise. I have a good army behind me, and they will scour every inch of desert if I tell them to night and day."

"I know." I sighed. I knew he was a good leader and a good soldier. He led the army well, and they wouldn't let him down. Most of them may be human, but they all knew how to kill a vampire, and they were good at it.

"If you doubt Bastian or anyone else's ability to keep you safe, at least have faith in me. I saved your life once, I will do it again."

I smirked at the memory, and I knew he meant it, so I hugged him again gratefully. "Thank you."

"It will be alright." He said again kissing my hair. "Trust me." He kissed my cheek then left and I saw Godric standing outside the door when it swung open. Surprisingly he didn't look upset. He just walked in and closed the door behind him, then came over to me, kissed me gently then hugged me.

(Godric's POV again)

"We are not leaving." I told her. The truth was that I was tired of always running, I wanted a home. I wanted to be able to stay in one place and be happy. And this had become our home. Not to mention, "You need this." Being here was good for her. She didn't want to feel like an outcast the rest of her life and this was the only place in the world where she could be surrounded by people like her. Plus, it was where her daughter was and I wasn't about to let her walk out on Tali a second time.

She nodded against my chest agreeing with me. She wasn't going to run away. I trusted Bakari to keep her safe because he loved her. For the first time I was actually grateful for that fact, because I knew it was an advantage.


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33: Ambush**

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A few days passed and Bakari claimed that neither he nor any of his men had seen any sign of the Celts, or anyone for that matter who wasn't supposed to be in the country. It was silent. But in Samira's words 'it was too silent', she called it the 'silence before the storm'. I agreed with her that sometimes silence was a bad sign, but sometimes it was just silence. She wanted there to be something to find, but what if there wasn't? Could we really be on alert for the next year, decade, century, or millennium, or however long it took before they showed up and her dream came true? I was completely for being prepared and alert, but this was starting to get ridiculous. But no matter what any of us told her she wouldn't let her guard down. She knew something was wrong, she could feel it in her bones.

Every morning I heard the same worries. "Then go to the temple and pray to your gods for help. Perhaps they can tell you when they are coming." I muttered barely able to keep myself awake while I lay in bed. Meanwhile, she was standing in front of the balcony staring out into the desert. Our balcony was one of the only ways to see outside, since the palace was buried under the sand. Our room had one and so did Bastian and Dorothea's.

"Show respect." She said sternly glaring over her shoulder at me. "You know they are real, they saved our life and yet you mock them."

"They are not my gods." I reminded her yet again. "I worship no god, I respect only the forces of nature – the sun, the moon, the water, earth…they are absolute."

"So are they." She replied.

I didn't listen to her, I was too tired. After a hundred years together, I noticed I was already getting comfortable and lazy with her. I no longer cared to have long conversations, especially long arguments like we used to. We'd had them already, there was no reason to have the same conversations over and over again. It was annoying.

She scoffed angrily and walked out into the balcony to watch the sunrise while I remained safe from the sun. I hadn't even tasted her blood since we'd been here, so the sun would yet again burn me if I went into it. I wanted to keep it that way. I liked being in the sun as much as anyone, but her blood was too addicting. I couldn't go there again.

So I fell asleep and left her to her sulking and worrying. There wasn't anything I could say or do to ease her mind anyway. I don't know what time she finally came to bed, but at some point I woke up and she was laying beside me with her back to me. I rolled over and pulled her close to hold her, then fell back asleep.

Unfortunately, I wasn't asleep very long and I was woken up again. At first I thought I was dreaming or having some strange episode of déjà vu, as I heard her crying and screaming. Her scream of, "Nai!" (No) made me shoot up to see her with her face buried in the pillow as she cried hysterically. Not again, I thought. Please, not again.

I grabbed her and shook her trying to wake her up. "Samira…Samira, wake up…Samira!"

"Nai…Nai-Nai-Nai…Nai!" She kept crying harder and harder.

"Samira!...Love!...Wake up!"

"Ah!"

Then there was a commotion at the door. Someone from the outside must have heard her screaming and they kicked the door in. I wasn't that surprised to see it was Bakari holding his sword ready to kill an intruder or whoever was hurting her. He put it down seeing that no one was hurting her.

"Bakari…" I sighed.

"What is wrong?" He asked.

I shrugged not being able to answer. I had no idea, she just started screaming like she used to do. I thought we were passed all of this. "I do not understand." Was all I could say as I held her close.

He rushed over to the other side of the bed to her. He put one hand calmly against her forehead, and the other on her cheek closing his eyes. Then he started whispering something softly, like a chant. I guessed it was probably a prayer for help, but he was speaking so softly I couldn't really figure out what he was saying.

Soon, after he chanted it a few times, she started to slowly calm down. She stopped writhing and screaming until she was just crying softly. I kissed her ear and whispered, "Love, wake up…wake up."

She finally woke up with a start as if something frightened her. I held on tighter to keep her from jumping out of my arms, and Bakari jumped back removing his touch.

"Bakari?" She said surprised to see him sitting there. Then she looked up to me. "Godric?"

"You are alright." I assured her.

"You were screaming again." Bakari told her. "I came to see what was wrong…what did you see?"

She kept her eyes on me. They were still wet with blood. "I saw them."

It was Bakari who asked her the question before I could. I was still trying to understand why she was screaming in her sleep again. "Where?"

She finally looked to him shaking her head. "I do not know…it was in flames." She added and her voice cracked again at the words. "I could hear their screams."

"Sh…" He murmured taking her hands in his comfortingly. "It was a dream."

"You as well I know that is not true."

"Samira, we have scoured the desert, and every city – Thebes, Memphis, and every city in between – there is nothing."

"Of course, there's nothing!" She barked. "They would not announce their presence in a place they do not belong!"

She had a point. They weren't supposed to be here due to the war. They weren't even supposed to leave Europe. They don't want to be found, and they will do whatever they have to keep themselves hidden. But I had faith in Bakari and his guards, because who knew their country better than they did?

"I am not saying I will stop looking, I am just saying be realistic."

"Why do you not believe me?" She cried looking from him to me. Then she angrily pushed me away and got out of bed. Bakari stood to face her, he wasn't going to back away from her just because she was having a temper tantrum. He was braver than I was in that regard. When she got like this I usually just gave her what she wanted because I knew I wouldn't win.

"I do believe you. You know I will always believe you, but your visions are uncertain. What you are seeing could be centuries from now."

"But it's not!...I do not know how I know, but I do. I can feel it. They are close and they will find me."

"Samira, I will not let them harm you. If they find you here, we will take care of them. So please – "He added pushing her back down on the bed. "Lay down and rest."

She did. She laid back down beside me and buried her face in my chest. She wasn't going to relax though, and I could see that she probably wasn't going to sleep.

Bakari left the room and I soon followed. We had to come up with something to do. I had to tell Bastian what just happened. I was sure he would agree that her sudden painful dream after decades was something important. Perhaps, she was right. Bastian would know. I followed Bakari to Bastian's room where we knocked on the door together. It was still the middle of the day and we were all supposed to be sound asleep, but he came to the door rather quickly as if he had expected us.

"I know." He sighed as he walked out into the hallway closing the door behind him. He was even dressed already. Then he led us to the throne room where he called for a meeting with the other leaders of the army. Bakari and I stood at the bottom of the stairs together, while he sat atop his throne above us ready to give his edict one everyone had poured in. The room became rather crowded. Bakari was the commander of the army, but there were generals and other overseers below him. He told me that they had basically cut Egypt into different sections, especially the western half which was all desert. It was split into five different territories, one for each company of soldiers, because there were five oases – Siwa, Baharia, Farafra, Dakhla, and Kharga (where I found Samira). Each company had a General, who all answered to Bakari. Then he had his own company located in the north where there was another oasis attached to the Nile called Faiyum – his territory stretched from there down to the city of Amarna. Not surprisingly it was just south of Memphis, the city that he travelled to with Samira's family. From Memphis to the northern border was controlled by another General, from Amarna down to Abydos was a section, from Abydos down to Thebes, and lastly from Thebes south to Nubia. And the Eastern Desert, the Eastern border was controlled by two more different Generals. So over all they had their country divided into twelve sections. I suddenly felt the pressure that must have been on Bakari's shoulders to keep all of that secure.

"Apparently, we have been wrong to assume that we are on a hunt for something that is not there." Bastian announced to his Generals. "Samira is not the only one who has seen them. She showed me the dream as well, and I now believe her that they are indeed in our country. The only question that remains is where…Godric." He added looking down to me. "You are the only one who knows them. Where do you think they would hide?"

"I – " I stammered with a shrug. That was a hard question. If they truly knew we were here, then they would do what they could to keep us from guessing where they were. They would do just the opposite of what I think they would do. When they found us last time they were hiding out in the wilderness, staying away from civilization because that's what we did. So I would guess that that's where they would go again, they would hide out somewhere in the desert, but not too far away that they couldn't hunt. "The city." I said. "They would be close to civilization. Not necessarily a large city like Thebes, but close by so they could hunt."

"Well, that narrows it down." Bakari muttered rubbing his forehead.

Remembering the geography of the country that they had taught me I remembered the straight of the Nile in the middle of the country that had three smaller cities almost evenly spread out – "Amarna, Asyut, and Abydos. I would have chosen that as my hunting ground because I could move fairly easily between the three cities to hunt to keep from drawing too much attention as if I were killing in only one city." I told Bakari.

The two Generals who oversaw those territories both stepped forward to say that they had searched high and low and found nothing. I didn't care though, I was somehow certain that they were there, because as I said that's what I would have done back when I was a monster…until Samira saved me. They took my word for it and Bastian ordered that those Generals take extra men and negotiate with the humans (the Egyptians not the Romans) for help. I still thought it was odd that these vampires were allies with the humans, most especially the humans who were high in regard like the pharaohs of old. But that only added to their power and their safety.

"I wish to go with you." I said looking to the Generals. "She is my responsibility. I want to kill them myself."

They looked to the king. It was his decision. He could easily make me stay there in the palace, but I knew he would let me go because he would do the same for his wife. He thought it over for a moment, I could tell he was worried about letting me go because Samira wouldn't like it and she would raise a tantrum over it. But I would be safe, Bakari would never let anything happen to me simply for her sake. So he nodded agreeing to it and I left with the them. Unfortunately, we had to wait until dark to leave, and by that time Samira had finally fell asleep out of pure exhaustion so I couldn't tell her goodbye or explain what was happening.

After hours of riding camels we arrived in Amarna. The city was quiet and dark, peaceful. No one would ever suspect there was anything to be afraid of in these streets. But the army moved through the streets swiftly and diligently. Bakari and I went to the main center of the city. When it was deemed clear we started running through the desert to the next city, Asyut. We had to run and spread out throughout the open desert checking every inch of the Nile and the sand around it for signs that they had passed that way. I walked into the water, even though they all warned me not to. The Nile is dangerous they said due to all the predators that live in the water. I didn't care though, because I knew they would take that risk if they had to. We were stronger than any animal, no matter how large – even a crocodile with a hard, scaled hide.

After a few miles I stopped suddenly when I heard something move under the water next to me. I whistled to Bakari and they all stopped. Then something jumped out of the water at me. I large crocodile grabbed my leg and dragged me under. It hurt, and I groaned in pain until I was submerged. Then I had to wrestle with the thing to pry my leg out of its grip. When I tried to fight it it went into a death roll, which hurt even more. My head bounced off one of the rocks at the bottom of the river nearly knocking me unconscious. I couldn't breathe and soon I felt dizziness start. Luckily, just before I passed out I heard the animal growl and cry out making it let go of me and someone pulled me out of the water. I looked over and saw a group of soldiers stabbing the thing with their swords.

"Godric, you alright?" Bakari asked quickly kneeling beside me while I coughed up all the water I had sucked in. As I was keeled over I looked across the river and I thought I saw a shadow move. "What?" He asked after I jumped to my feet. He spun around on his feet and must have caught a glimpse of it too. He ordered, "Get them!" loudly and the soldiers took off running.

"Go." I urged. I was alright, I didn't need him watching over me like a medic. He obliged and ran away as fast as he could. I had to wait a minute to heal and to be able to breathe again before I got up and followed.

"It's a shame the crocodile did not kill you." I heard from behind me. That voice sent shivers down my spine and I immediately regretted not listening to Samira over the past few days. I would never doubt her again. Behind me was Bearcban, I would know that voice anywhere. I looked over my shoulder and saw him standing in the water. He was wet from head to toe, he had been in the water just as I had thought, but I was too busy being attacked to see him.

"Now I wish I had stayed out of the water." I replied speaking a language I hadn't spoken in over seventy years, yet somehow it flowed off my tongue as if I had never stopped. "Then perhaps it would have eaten you and spared us the trouble."

He laughed. "As if you can win. Your friends have left you."

I smirked in return because he was wrong. I was a lot stronger now than last time they saw me. Not to mention, I just realized we had been followed. I should have known. She hadn't been sleeping, she was pretending…or she had yet another dream which woke her up. Either way she was behind him hiding under the water.

He raised the stake in the air with a victorious look on his face, but it soon faded into a look of pain as he fell to his knees crying out. He dropped the stake to the ground and I quickly snatched it up. I raised it up ready to kill him, but she stopped me.

"NO!" She ordered stepping out of the river. I obliged lowering my hand. He was neutralized, there was no need to kill him now. "Do you believe me now?" She asked bluntly.

I sighed getting up to my feet. He growled up at us and I kicked him hard in the face knocking him unconscious. "Love, I am sorry." I said softly stepping forward taking her hands. "Forgive me…you were right."

"Good." She said and removed my hands. She was mad enough to not let me off the hook that easily. "Get something to carry him with." She ordered as if she were my superior now. I let it go, I deserved it, and did as I was told. I left her there while I went back to town to get the camels. I threw him on one and tied him down with silver, then we went looking for the others. She knew he wasn't here alone, so the others must have been chasing them. Bakari met us not far from the river and they had caught the other two. We regrouped and started heading back to the palace.


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34: No Memory**

**Sorry for the delay guys, I was waiting on reviews. **

Per Samira's request we dragged our new captors behind our camels all the way back to the palace. None of us, especially me, was weary to take them there. They deserved to die where we found them and then to have their ashes left for the wind to scatter across the sands removing any evidence that they were ever there. Hagan could come looking for them all he wanted, I didn't care, he wouldn't be able to find anything. But Samira was convinced that he would know it was us and he would bring war again to our newfound family.

At least they were suffering now as they dragged through the hot sand nude for all vampires to see their shame. It was nice to hear them laughing at the spectacle. They all were loyal to the crown – Bastian's crown – and they loved seeing these invaders suffer as much as anyone. Bearcban would find no allies here.

By the time we made it to the palace they were half starved and could barely walk. We had a gathering behind us, every vampire of the realm following us like an army hooting and hollering and throwing rocks trying to provoke the imposters to get violent knowing it would be enough of a reason to rip them to shreds. However, Bearcban wasn't that foolish, and neither were his two stewards.

We dragged them inside, blinding them so they would never be able to find their way back to our sacred home, and flung them through the doors to land at the king and queen's feet.

"Our invaders, your majesties." Bakari announced loudly making sure everyone could hear him. Then one by one the three of them were brought to their knees and their blindfolds removed so they could look upon the king's face and tremble. Although, I knew they wouldn't tremble. At least, not Bearcban. He showed no fear at all.

"You must be Hagan's progeny." Bastian said looking down from his throne. "The leader of this feebled attempt of an invasion."

"If I recall correctly -" Bearcban replied boldly, "the invasion was a success. We were hidden within the cities for days."

"So you were able to step foot on my land…that proves only our foolishness. We were told you were coming and I admit we were slow to do the right thing. However, here you kneel before me and I could kill you if I so choose European."

"Yes, I am Hagan's progeny, and therefore I know exactly who and what you are. You are Awi, the progeny of Aapep, making your bitch there Woserit, progeny of Aapep's brother. You fought in the war for power and you won. Mind my words, your reign will come to end, my lord."

"Not by you."

Then Bearcban peered over to Samira. "I was wrong about you. My master tried to tell me you were different, special – a witch – and I did not believe him. You being here among these _creatures_ proves he was right."

Samira stepped closer, even after I tried to stop her. She pulled me off and knelt down in front of him. She was fearless. She had changed since last he saw her. She wasn't insecure and young anymore. She was confident both in herself and her abilities and she feared only the king and queen and losing me. He was a rodent in her eyes. Not to mention she still had her goddess on her shoulder, and Isis would always be there. Isis would smite any and all threats to her precious heiress whom she had come to treat like a favored daughter. Samira knew she was untouchable.

"You should have known that the day we escaped." She said in a low voice. "What did you really think you were going to do when you came here? Capture me? Kill me? I have _nothing_ to fear from the likes of _you_."

Bearcban laughed aloud. It echoed throughout the hall and everyone looked at each other curiously wondering what was so amusing. We all knew Samira was dead serious, so why was he laughing? Was he just a fool? Or a madman?

He said, "Hagan knows your kind better than you give him credit for. We were sent to capture you and take you back to him where he could deal with you as he sees fit. You may not fear me, but you would be wise to fear him. For more reasons than you know."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked curiously. Bearcban knew something that we didn't and it gave me an odd ping in my gut. Something wasn't right. The look in his eyes was eerie. And she could see it too. His words and the way he spoke and the way his eyes spoke made her step back.

He looked to me still smiling. "Why should I tell you? You are not the one he wants."

Suddenly I was shocked by a loud smack echoing through the room. She had slapped him across the face, then again the other way making another echo. I had seen her want to hurt somebody before, but I had yet to see her act like this. I had a feeling Isis had something to do with it. Perhaps her goddess was whispering in her ear.

Then she screamed at him demanding to know what he knew that was so amusing. "What does he want with me?"

"You were the first of your kind that he ever found outside of their grip." He answered slowly due to his jaw being in pain, gesturing to Bastian with his eyes. "All he wants is to reclaim what was taken from him, but he cannot defeat a gifted and he knows that."

"I will _never_ do _anything_ for him."

"We thought you would say that."

Then Bastian was coming down the steps with Dorothea on his heels. "Enough of this." He said and he gently moved Samira aside not wanting her to unleash more anger and cause problems. They may have deserved it, but like she said herself, we couldn't risk harming them. If she let her anger get the best of her she would go against her own advice and would slash his throat. So I took her and held her close hoping to calm her.

"It's obvious to me that I cannot kill you because that would only provoke your master and the last thing I want is another war. However, nor can I allow you to return to your master to divulge what you have seen. Hagan cannot know she is here. So what do I do with you?"

Dorothea replied from behind him, "Erase his memory."

Bearcban laughed. "If we have no recollection of being here, that would be quite obvious to him that we learned something you did not want us to know."

"I did not mean erase everything." She said. "Merely your memory of Samira."

"Is that possible?" I asked them both. Bastian did not answer me, he kept staring down his prey refusing to flinch and show weakness. He wanted Bearcban to understand who was the alpha, but Bearcban didn't look frightened in the slightest.

"It is for me." She answered. "Remember, I descend from the god of knowledge, I have that power. I can give and erase knowledge if I so choose."

But the way she spoke made her sound uncertain. Maybe not to the men on their knees, but to those of us who knew her well enough, her voice gave away a small hint of wariness. It was a power she didn't use often and was out of practice with. She was uncertain how well it would work. But she came forward anyway and came around her husband to stand before one of the other henchmen. He looked afraid of her, but he was trying his hardest not to show it. I didn't recognize him, he must have been fairly new. That was probably part of Hagan's plan. He didn't want them to be able to be spotted so easily, so he chose someone we wouldn't recognize. However, they needed a leader, and Bearcban was the only option.

She put her hand on the young man's forehead. He looked to be maybe only twenty years old, barely older than us. He had shaggy dark blonde hair that was now brown due to all the desert sand that had blown through it and his skin was caked in it as well. Feeling her hand on him he flinched and tried to move away not wanting to be spelled, but he had no choice. The guards held him in place. Then the blue light emerged around her hand – the proof of their magic and their sacred blood – a blue light, almost like small cold flame. It surrounded him like a halo and he squinted his eyes closed trying to fight it while crying out softly, "No, please no." But soon it was over and he fell over unconscious.

"Did it work, my love?" Bastian asked blankly keeping his eyes on Bearcban. They were still having a stare down – a battle of wills.

"I think so. When he wakes he will have no memory of seeing her." She replied before moving onto the next one. After seeing what happened to his comrade he jumped to his feet and tried to run before she could touch him, but Bakari already had him by the throat before he even turned around. He held him up in the air at arm's length staring him down like a hawk. It always amazed me how fearless they all were. They weren't predators at all, they valued life, but yet they had it in their eyes.

"Go ahead, my queen." Bakari said. "I shall keep him from escaping."

"No, please – " but his pleas wouldn't help him. Before he could finish her hand was on him and he was enveloped by the same halo of blue fire. Her eyes were closed and I could see them moving from under her eyelids as if she were dreaming. I realized she wasn't merely ordering them to forget that memory, she had to search through their minds and find the ones she wanted to erase. She was seeing every memory they had. I wouldn't want to see that. No wonder she didn't use it often.

When he passed out Bakari dropped him to the floor. The only one left was Bearcban. But Dorothea was looking tired. The downside to not using your powers and keeping them honed – they weaken you. She nearly lost her footing, but Bastian caught her and held her close finally tearing his eyes away from Bearcban to look at her in concern.

"Are you alright, my love?"

She nodded quickly. Then she looked behind her to her lady in waiting to tell her, "Blood." It was a simple order, and the girl bowed then ran to go fetch some. She just needed a drink and then she would be fine enough to erase Bearcban's memory. Personally, I would have done his first.

"You are not as strong as you claim to be, gifted one." He said not staring her down.

"Do not insult me." She ordered. It was a threat more than anything. Dorothea had earned her throne, she was no weakling. She knew how to fight and how to tear her enemies apart. She was meaner than she looked.

He chuckled evilly. "You do not frighten me, woman."

This time it was Bastian who made it echo in the room. Being slapped like a woman was an insult. My maker used to do it to me all the time. Bearcban still laughed though as if it didn't even phase him, when I knew his face was in excruciating pain. Not only did Bearcban slap him, but his hand had glowed blue when he struck him.

"Do what you want with me, it will come back to you."

Bastian grabbed him by the throat and lifted him to his feet. "You think one word you say can frighten me, young one? Samira is part of this family now, you threaten her you threaten all of us, and I protect my family." Then his demeanor changed and the way he stared into Bearcban's eyes – he was glamouring him. "You will bite your tongue."

When Bearcban was back on his own two feet, he staggered a bit looking lost a dazed – a side effect of the glamouring, but he did as he was told and didn't speak another word. The only downside to that was, he wouldn't let slip anything that might be useful information. I doubted he would anyway, but once Dorothea touched him he may turn cowardly and offer information in exchange for his freedom.

The servant girl came back with a pitcher full of blood and a goblet. Everything in this place was made of gold and adorned with jewels. They reveled in every pleasure possible taking full advantage of their position. Not that I was complaining, I rather liked it after spending so much time as a slave with nothing, and then as a nomad with nothing. I rather liked being rich and being able to have whatever I wanted. So did Samira, even moreso than I did. We had to put in an extra closet in our room for all her clothes and accessories. Those first few years she went a little crazy with the shopping.

Dorothea always kept up appearances, so rather than drinking the whole pitcher like I would have, she poured a glass, drink it, then poured another and so on until there was none left. She let it fill her up and revitalize her body for a moment, and soon she was standing on her own two feet again and glaring down at her last victim. She reached out to touch his forehead, but once she did it was like her magic reflected off of him and onto herself making her flinch as if she had been poked.

"What was that?" Bastian asked. Apparently that had never happened before.

"I do not know." She whispered inspecting her hand for wounds. He looked as well, and there was nothing wrong with her.

"Has that never happened before?" I asked the obvious question.

"No." Bastian replied with a dumbfounded look as he stared as the still dazed Bearcban. "He is shielded, immune."

"Immune?" Samira blurted. "How is that possible? He's a nobody!"

Bastian quickly corrected himself, "He's not immune to magic, but something is protecting him from Dorothea's powers making him immune to her magic and mine."

"I do not understand." She muttered.

He sighed looking at her. "Come, you try. He cannot be protected from all of us."

Samira came forward as she was told and listened very carefully to what Dorothea told her. It wasn't quite the same, since Samira did not have Thoth in her bloodline, but she had true magic and that could do just about anything.

We waited and when Samira's hand got closer, the aura around him turned blue. Now even I could see what they meant. He had a magical shield around him, which was impossible. He was normal, like me. He had no magic. But when Samira touched him it didn't shock her like it had Dorothea. It fought against her, like a force keeping her hand away from him, but she pushed through it until her hand was on his skin and it subsided. Slowly it dissipated until there was no shield. She got through to him and then Dorothea could too. She erased his memory like the others then he fell over like the others.

"Sorry if I'm a little slow." I said looking to Bastian and Dorothea. I was still caught up on how that was could even happen. "But how could he be shielded?" I asked

"There's only one way." Dorothea replied. "He had gifted blood in his system. Hagan must have found another one and used their blood to protect himself and his progenies. He did not waste it on his minions." She added looking down to the other two who were easy to put down. They meant nothing to him if they died.

"But why could Samira get through?" I asked. Bakari had even tried and he couldn't touch him either. If Bastian couldn't even do it, why could she?

"The only explanation I can think of is that either the gifted whose blood is in his veins is somehow stronger than ours and weaker than hers, or…" He paused for a moment. He didn't want to say it, because the possibility was too eerie. And it would be bad for us.

Samira went ghost white. "Or what?"

"Or it's her blood?" I guessed. I didn't want to be right, but I knew that look. The way he glanced at her.

"But how – "

"Sh…" I whispered taking her and holding her close again. I didn't want her to get upset or emotional. I knew her too well, she would start blaming herself. The only possible way Bastian could have gotten ahold of her blood was while we were healing from being buried alive. They could have done anything to us. But Bearcban hadn't believed she was a witch, that was why we were buried alive rather than killed as punishment for her setting Hagan on fire. So why would they have taken her blood?

Bakari stepped forward with Tali with a suggestion. "I'll take them to the border and when they wake Tali can get the answers from him. She can read his mind. If it was truly Samira's blood, then Tali would be able to get through as well."

"True…" Bastian said as he pondered. But it was risky. If she got through, that risked Tali's life. Bearcban would know she was a threat to him, and therefore that she was somehow connected to Samira. Or that she was even more powerful than Samira making her even more tempting.

"No."Samira said in a motherly tone to her daughter and her ex-lover. She wasn't going to risk it. "Bastian, it's too risky."

"It may be our only hope of knowing." He replied. He didn't like it anymore than she did, but sometimes you had to do what you had to do. Bakari and the army would bet here, how much harm could they really do to her?

"I will be alright, mother." Tali said in a comforting tone. "Poppa will protect me."

"You know I will." He added.

She thought it over, but eventually she would have to give in, she had no choice. So she agreed, though reluctantly. "Fine."

Then they left. The soldiers carried the three minions over their shoulders and outside ready to take them back to the sea and across the border. That was still our territory but it was open to them. Egypt was the only area off limits to outsiders. If they ever cross it again they would be punished.


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35: A Boy**

**PLEASE REVIEW! **

After Bakari left with Tali taking Bearcban and his minions back to the Red Sea, I couldn't help but wonder if it really worked. What if they're memories weren't erased? Or atleast Bearcban's. What if he was only acting? He'd been immune to Dorothea's powers, then Samira touched him and supposedly got through, but what if he was still immune to Dorothea? What if he woke up before they got across the border and caught Bakari and Tali by surprise and got away? Granted, Bakari had taken his men with him, but most of them were human and stood little chance against a savage like Bearcban.

What troubled me even more was how he was immune. We established that it had to have been Samira's blood, but the last they saw of her was seventy years ago, how could they have a source of her blood to last that long? It would have worn off within hours. I had drank her blood enough times to know the effects didn't last very long. So how did he do it? He couldn't have saved it and then drink it before coming into Egypt, because he didn't know Samira was here. He had no way of knowing they'd come across her and would need it. Then again though, they knew the other gifted were here. I hoped that was all it was – that they had merely saved it for coming here because of the other gifted.

When I looked around the room again, I noticed Samira had gone. She had snuck out of the room without me noticing. I looked to Dorothea curious as to where she went and Dorothea shrugged. I prayed she didn't leave the Palace to try and aid Bakari and their daughter. I ran to our room hoping she had hid herself away in there. I burst through the door and thankfully there she was standing on the balcony with her back to me. I let out a sigh of relief and walked to her. When I reached out to touch her she shrugged it off not.

"Samira." I sighed. "I realize you are upset – "

She laughed and sniffled and I realized she had been crying, then she turned to face me. "Upset? I am far beyond upset. I am furious! You were foolish to go out there like that in your state of mind."

"What state of mind?"

"Not believing they were there. You thought you were chasing ghosts and it allowed them to catch you by surprise. You idiot!"

"What do you want me to say, Samira? That I'm sorry I did not listen to you? That I'm sorry I went out looking for them?"

"I almost lost you!" She cried. "Had I not gotten there when I did…"

I felt like a fool, now. I pulled her close and held her while she cried. Had she not known to come after us, I could have died fighting Bearcban. She was right, I let myself get caught off guard. It was a mistake that I didn't plan on making again. "I am so sorry, love." I whispered kissing her temple. "I wasn't thinking."

"I can't lose you." She whispered, her voice shaking. Her grip around my neck got tighter and she buried her face deeper under my chin breathing against my neck.

I could feel her tears on my throat and it made it that much harder for me not to cry along feeling ashamed of myself. I kissed her forehead and her temple, everywhere I could, then lifted her face to mine so I could kiss her lips just wanting to be close to her. "It will never happen again." I promised as I slid my hands down her body to her waist to pull it closer to mine. Then I brought her hands from around my neck to my face. "I'll never leave you."

She seemed satisfied with that answer as she pulled my lips back to hers. Soon I abandoned her lips and kissed down her neck to her shoulder, then turned her around still kissing her shoulder and started getting her dress off. It was quite easy. I let it fall to the ground then picked her up hooking one arm under her legs to carry her to the bed. I laid her down before I took my clothes off and joined her. I climbed on top of her then pulled the sheets up over us so no one could see her but me, not ever her gods. Her body was covered in marks, and they all still fascinated me as much as mine fascinated her. She licked and kissed the marks of my people on my arm while I did the same to the one on her arm that told her family's story. It was a part of her, so I loved it. Then I kissed up to where the newest mark rested – the one I gave her around her neck when we wed. I still smiled at the memory. She was mine forever.

"Godric?" She whispered getting my attention.

I stared down at her curiously. I couldn't help but stare at her swollen lips that were wet from kissing.

Her hand caressed my face, over my eyes making me close them and see her in my mind, then down over my lips where she traced them like she was memorizing them. "I love you."

I smiled happily and kissed her again. "I love you…forever."

She wrapped her legs around me pulling me closer and I knew what she wanted. She didn't want to wait any longer. Her hands on my back were desperate, she was trying her hardest to fuse our bodies together as if she could make us one person. But the closest we could come was when I was inside her pouring everything I had into loving her. She arched under me and moaned softly while I kissed her neck and took one of her hands from my back to entwine it with my own over her head.

I never understood the need vampires had to be rough with each other, even with humans, when they did this. I never even had the desire to be rough with her because I was always in a good mood just being her arms. I could have the worst day of my life and once I felt her around me I was in heaven where nothing was wrong. Maybe that's why I loved her so much. After a life of hell and pain from the day the Romans took me, she was the only thing that brought me peace. She made it all go away.

When it was over and we laid there together – me on my back with her resting on my chest, she looked up at me curiously having heard all of those thoughts. She had never asked or even shown interest in being rough, but now she was enquiring about it?

"Godric."

"Hm?" I hummed I laid there with my eyes closed. I was reliving it, seeing her in my mind, hearing her moans and cries as I pleased her again and again.

"Was it like this with the Roman women?" Her question caught me off guard. My eyes flashed open and I gave her a look that probably looked mad, but I was just shocked. She hadn't asked me about Rome in almost a century. "Or was it as you thought earlier? A way that we would never be."

"Why are you asking me this?"

She shrugged. "Because you thought about it."

"You think I want that?"

"No, you said so in your thoughts, but the fact that you thought about it proves something. That's how it was, wasn't it? You had your way with them?"

"I was ordered to. I was put on spectacle for other vampires to see as I took advantage of a slave girl so Appius could make money off of me like a whore. But the truth was he wanted me to be like Calix. He was honing my skills so I could use them on him."

Seeing how she had upset me by bringing up my past, she sat up pulling the sheet around her. "I'm sorry." She said softly. "I should have left it alone."

I sat up with her and pulled her back to me. "Samira, yes it's a vampire's nature to be that way. It's our nature to be monstrous in everything we do. But just because it's my nature, does not mean I want to be that way, especially not with you."

"I just do not understand, because then is it not also my nature? Hearing your thoughts stirred something inside of me. It clawed at the forefront of my mind like an animal demanding to be let out of a cage."

"I'm sorry." I sighed realizing that her hearing that had sounded good to her instincts and I knew, probably more than most people, how hard it was to fight instinct. "I should know by now to control the thoughts that bounce around in my mind."

"I just want to know if it's like that for you. It's happened before, I know it has, which is why I'm bringing it up."

"Yes I have thought about it." I admitted. Especially in the earlier days that we were together and the relationship was new. My instinct was yelling at me to have my way with her, because that's what I was trained to do. Every woman that ever stirred me was thrown in front of me by Appius and I was ordered to have my way with her for entertainment. Then he'd be turned on and he'd have his way with me. But after a few years I learned how to ignore that part of me and be gentler with her, and soon it didn't even bother me anymore. I was happy, I liked being gentle, it reminded me I wasn't a complete loss. "But not in a long time."

"You never wonder what it would be like?"

"I told you, not in a very long time."

She smirked and kissed me again pushing me back down on my back. Then she stopped and rested against me again like before and closed her eyes. That was all she wanted to hear - that what she felt was normal and that I didn't want it.

The sun would be up soon, so I allowed myself to sleep since I didn't get much the before. I just hoped no disturbing prophecies came in the middle of the day and woke her. In the meantime I dreamt about a boy that I had never seen before. He was about my height, dark skinned like Samira with curly short black hair and brown eyes. He couldn't have been very old, maybe thirteen. Samira and I were sitting together under the tree of our oasis and the boy was standing on the water while trying to balance. Apparently, Samira was teaching him something. Or he was showing us something he learned how to do. He was a gifted though, obviously, who could walk on water. Then I realized why he was trying to balance. The water then lifted him up carrying him to the top of the tree where he plucked a fruit and then it brought him back down. Samira clapped proudly, then got up and walked over to him to give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Then she said she was proud of him, and I got a name - Baraka. He smiled happily thanking her and called her "mewt", which I knew to mean mother. Then he cut his fruit open to eat it before sitting next to us under the shade of the tree.

When I woke up, I realized it was still day out. Judging by the shadow coming in through the window, it was about three hours past noon, meaning there were about four more before sunset. I looked down and she was still snuggled happily up against me fast asleep. I wondered if she had shown me that dream. Was that the future? Who was the boy and why would she treat him like family, let alone why would he call her mother? He had been human, which was even stranger. Yet he was gifted, very gifted for a human, I could only imagine his power if he were a vampire. Then I remembered Tali. Bakari had been a vampire when she was conceived and yet she was born human. The gifted could still bear children. What if this Baraka was their future son?

The only problem was I couldn't exactly go beat the living hell out of Bakari in order to interrogate him on whether or not he had touched her. So my only option was to try and get it out of her. I didn't even want to – if she had betrayed me…

"Samira." I said as softly as I could. I was trying desperately to keep my anger under control. I rolled us over so she was under me and I held her that way she couldn't escape when I interrogated her. "Samira."

She hummed as she woke up and opened her eyes to see me. The serious look on my face surprised her, her eyebrows furrowed together. "What's wrong?"

"You know." I said firmly. She had shown me that dream, I know she did. So she knew what I saw.

"Godric, I thought it would have made you happy. Given you hope for the future. I did not mean to upset you."

"How can you expect me to be happy about it? You betrayed me – or you will."

"What? No."

"Samira –"

She became forceful and pushed me off. She was stronger than I was, which I hadn't anticipated. She sat up glaring at me. "Are we back there? You still think I would fall back into Bakari's arms and more than that, you think I would bear him another child?"

I rolled off the bed knowing I could never go back to sleep after this. Yet again, my day's ruined by one of her prophecies. "I am not a gifted, Samira. Vampires cannot bear children. What else am I supposed to think?" I asked as I got dressed pulling my pants up.

"That maybe you were the exception to the rule." She whispered sadly. "All these years I have wished for another child – your child. I failed the first time and I prayed the gods would give me another chance. When I saw that boy I hoped…" She stopped midsentence then shook her head dismissing it. "I guess I should not have shown you, but I never thought you would actually suspect that I had an affair."

She got out of bed and got dressed throwing on her robe. She sucked in the tears not wanting to cry anymore, and headed for the door. When I tried to stop her she shrugged me off and when that didn't work, she pushed me off.

"Don't touch me!" She demanded before slamming the door open as hard as she could then running down the hall.

Once again, I let my anger get the best of me and it ruined everything. After all these decades I should know better, I told myself. I should know she would never run into another man's arms, even Bakari's, so long as she had mine to fall into. But I was so afraid of losing her…I knew where she would run to. She always ran to the temple to be with her gods and pray when she was upset. I decided I'd give her a few minutes to herself before I went after her to apologize.

However, that still left the question of who that boy was and why he called her his mother. He couldn't have been my son…could he?

I left the bedroom, but I didn't go to the temple yet. I wanted to try something that I had never done before because it wasn't my religion, but I figured if I was ever going to embrace it, now would be a good time. So I went to another part of the Palace, the basement. No one but the gifted were aloud down here, meaning no servants. I had never even seen Samira go down here. Bakari had been, and so had Bastian and Dorothea, but no one else that I knew of. The two guards at the door eyed me in a strange way curious as to why I of all people wanted down there, but I dismissed them and ordered them to step aside. They obliged. Being a prince had its upsides. I walked down the stairs in the darkness, and when I came to the bottom i noticed there was a hole in the ceiling letting in a ray of light into the middle of the room. I used the mirrors to light the entire basement and what I saw was their wealth, and statues of gods being used as columns to hold up the ceiling along the walls. In the middle of the room where the mirror sat I noticed was the statue of Ra. The mirror was between his feet. I knelt down looking up at him and even though it felt silly I started talking to him.

"I don't know if you can hear me." I said softly. "Or if you even care about me, as I am not one of your people, but Samira is. You favor her, as she is one of your own flesh and blood. You gave her a dream today and I want to know what it means."

I sat there for a moment waiting for a voice, or any kind of sign to come along to prove that they were listening and were there. The eerie thing was that I knew they were there, I could feel their eyes on me, only I couldn't see them. I kept looking over my shoulder to see only glittering gold.

"Who is the boy?" I said again. "That's all I want to know…I am nothing but another monster, how is he our son? Or does something happen to force her into Bakari's arms again?"

After a long pause, I heard the wind whistle through the hole sky light above me and then a male voice echo softly, "You still doubt your wife's affections for you?"

I quickly got to my feet and spun around in a circle looking for the face that came with the voice, but I was alone. I was speaking to a ghost, or my imagination, I hadn't decided which yet. But I played along. "No, of course not."

"You cannot lie to me, Godric." I heard again, and this time it was much closer. the voice was much cleaner, smoother, it wasn't an echo. He was there. I spun around again and there by the mirror at Ra's feet sat a man. However, it wasn't what I expected. The gods were portrayed with animal heads, yet the man before me looked normal. He was dressed like a god, bare-chested with only a silk golden skirt and a necklace like Samira's, and atop his head was a crown (a golden snake). His hair was dark, straight, and pulled back to keep out of his face. He had the eyes of a hawk, and a smooth, straight mouth with hardly any curve on his lips.

"Think of it as a glamour." He told me. "You see this because you are limited, only our offspring can see our true forms on earth. If I were home, however, you would see me as I really am."

"Are you Ra?"

He nodded once jumping down off his own statue. I was still confused and surprised that I could see him. But I had asked for it, so perhaps that was the trick.

"Samira." He sighed licking his lip as if her name alone was intriguing. I knew better. She was intriguing to everybody, and the pleased look on his face as he thought about her was proof that the gods were no exceptions. I just hoped he knew to keep his hands off her. "I was worried the blending of the bloodlines would cause such chaos, but she is…perfect. I could not have done a better job at creating such a wonder."

Ra was not the creator, he didn't give life. So he was merely admiring Ptah's work. I had learned a lot about the gods in the last seventy years and I finally understood them all – who they were and what they did.

"You give Samira all of her visions – prophecies. Who is that boy?"

"Godric, I think you misunderstand us. We may do small favors for you in order to guide you in the right direction, but we do not interfere in human affairs."

"I asked about the dream and here you stand before me, but you will not answer me?"

He held up a finger to correct me, "I _cannot_ answer you, actually. Knowing too much of your own future can be maddening, trust me. I have seen it all."

"I just want to know if he is my son? He is either mine, or Bakari's, and I am not a gifted, therefore I cannot possibly have a son leaving Bakari as the only other option I see because he is the only other man on the planet she would allow anywhere near her."

He eyed me seriously then when I was done rambling. It made me stop dead. His eyes were like fire. "Do you trust your wife?"

"With my life." I answered honestly.

"Then there is no need for concern."

"If that is all you can tell me, why bother showing yourself?"

He smirked slyly as he climbed back up onto his statue to play with the mirror. "To give you an awakening." He answered before kicking the mirror moving it, and everything went dark again. He was still there though, I could see his shadow and eerily his shadow was of a blazing falcon with a wingspan the size of a full-grown man. "We wondered how long it would be until you came to us. You may not have been born on our land, but you are as much a part of our people as your wife. One day you will learn just how much."

Then I watched the shadow climb the wall until it reached the sky light and then disappeared. He left me there thinking. That raised another question, but the current one was more important so I pushed it aside and soon forgot all about it. All I cared about was that boy I saw.

**Hint into the future (Wink wink) lol. What do you think? **


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36: **

**Sorry guys for the long wait, but I've been busy. School this semester's been rough, I have a paper due every week. :( **

After my confrontation with Ra, I decided it was time to go to the temple to find Samira. As I walked through the Palace I could still feel his eyes on me. I wondered if this is how it felt for her everyday with Isis always on her shoulder. She had her goddess to guard her, and apparently now I had a god of my own to guide me in the right direction. What he had said kept me thinking: _"You may not have been born on our land, but you are as much a part of our people…" _How? I was a Gaul, born in Gallia to Gaul parents, there wasn't an ounce of blood flowing through me that wasn't Gaul. It made no sense. Did he mean just because I married her that they had in a way adopted me?

I decided the answer to that was no. He meant something much deeper.

I stood in the doorway of the temple and watched her sitting on the floor with candles floating all around her as she meditated praying for help. Out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw someone sitting on one of the statues, but when I turned to look there was no one there. I swore I saw a woman.

What? Now that I saw one for myself, I could see them all? Or was I driving myself insane?

I didn't want to interrupt her, but somehow I doubted I would. She was good at multitasking. So I stepped forward coming into the place I never felt comfortable, and it was different. I could still feel them watching me, but it was warmer. I felt welcome.

"Why can gods never give a straight answer?" I asked standing behind her. "They answer in riddles maddening us to the point of insanity as if it's entertaining."

She stayed focused on what she was doing – chanting in whispers, but I could usually hear her answer in my mind. Yet it was empty. She was still upset with me and this was my punishment – silence.

I had to admit it in order to get her attention. She would be intrigued to know they actually spoke to me, let alone I actually saw one. "He came to me." I told her as I looked up at him. "I asked for answers and he was less than helpful."

I was right. Her eyes opened and the candles fell to the floor. She turned around to stare up at me in surprise, but at the same time she was studying me to see if I was lying. When she realized I was telling the truth she stood up. "Ra? You saw him?"

"In the basement. He's the one who gives you the visions, so I had hoped he would explain this one. But all he could say was "Do you trust your wife?"."

"And?" She crossed her arms over her chest waiting impatiently for my reply.

"I do trust you. I always have, you know that. But you know as well as I do that I am incapable of putting a son in you." If I could I expected it would have happened by now. "And there is only one other man on the face of this earth that you love. I see no other option than he is Bakari's son."

"That's what logic tells you." She replied. I had expected to be slapped or cursed at again. She looked up at me with those big chocolate eyes that sparkled like the rest of the gold in the room. Her hand came to rest on my chest over my heart. "But what does this tell you?...You always listen to your head, my love, and think logically, but in our world few things are logical."

I hated it when she was right. "Forgive me." I pleaded softly looking into her eyes.

To my surprise she pulled me close and kissed me hard as if she had missed me when we were only separated for half an hour. "What if you are wrong?" She asked when she finally pulled away. "What if the gods have just waited until now to answer my prayers? We are finally safe here. To bear a child when we were running for our lives every day would have been cruel. But now we have a home where we are happy. Where else would be better than here to have a child?"

She made a good point, and I wanted her to be right. I wanted her to be happy and to have what she had been praying for for a hundred years, but I couldn't shake this feeling that he wasn't my son. He looked nothing like me, and he was far too powerful to come from a worthless, giftless monster like me.

Then she asked, "Would you want a child?"

Being a father was never on my list of things to accomplish in life, probably because physically I never reached the age in which men usually got married and started a family. I was still young, and then I became what I am and such things weren't an option so why bother thinking about them? Now that I was thinking about it I was petrified. What kind of a father could I possibly be? How could anyone, let alone an innocent child, look up to me? Did I want him to be my son? Yes. Somewhere where my deepest dreams rest I had hoped.

"Then maybe all we have to do is try." She suggested. "Let them know we are ready and see what happens."

She was so full of hope it was like looking into a child's eyes. The innocent dreams they always have. And I didn't want to crush it and break her heart, but I had to be the voice of reason. She had to understand it might not work. Somehow I knew it wouldn't work, but I would give in and try like she wanted. "Love, I want you to be right as much as you do, but you have to remember what I am. If this does not work…" I could barely bring myself to say it, because I know the thought alone of that child we saw not being mine would break her heart.

"It has to." She whispered. "We saw him."

She kissed me again, then pulled me down to the floor. She laid down pulling up the skirt of her dress exposing herself to me invitingly.

"Here?"

"Do you know of a better way to prove to them we are ready?"

Weren't there rules about doing such things in holy places? Wouldn't they be offended? She didn't think so apparently, as she reached up to pull me close.

"Please." She begged against my ear as she reached between us to free what she wanted from my pants.

I kept waiting for one of them to stop us, but nothing happened. Even when she rolled us over and started making love to me nothing happened to stop us. I wanted to protest until I was inside her, then my mind went blank. All I could think about was her, giving her what she wanted, pleasing her in every way. She begged Ra to allow this to work, but I knew the answer.

We made love in front of them until we were spent. I felt like I had spilled all the seed I had in my body. She had been more vigorous than usual, which was exciting, but it only went to show how badly she wanted this. That's what worried me. Did she want it bad enough that she would go to Bakari, and that I would let her just to make her happy? Ra said I had nothing to worry about, but that's what I was best at.

I fell asleep worrying about it. In my dreams I saw that damn boy again. This time, though, we were alone. He was only about six or seven years old, no taller than my waist. His curly hair sat atop his head like a bush. I was sitting under a tree staying out of the sun as much as I could while I drink blood out of a goblet – probably Samira's to keep from being burned up. He was running in circles playing, and laughing, with no care in the world. However, he was supposed to be paying attention. I had a book in my hand, one I had seen before. The golden book of Amun-Ra. Bastian kept it in safe keeping, along with the Book of the Dead, and many other ancient works of importance. He even had a copy of the oracle bones from China.

I was getting frustrated with him and told him to stop horsing around. "If you do not read at least one page of this before your mother gets back, it will be your hide, now come here."

"Why can I not do it later?" He whined. Somehow I knew it had been rainy season, so he had been stuck inside for a while, and he loved playing outdoors. That's all he wanted to do. "Please, it (aht)?"

Instantly, after hearing that one word, I woke up with a start. It meant Father. We were still lying in the temple of all places still stark naked. I looked around, and at first there was no one there, but I could feel him watching me. I looked down and she was still sleeping soundly, though she was moaning in discomfort. Whatever she was seeing was unpleasant. She hadn't shown me that dream. Then… I looked up one more time to see him standing there eyeing me curiously.

"I see you enjoyed yourself." He stated as he came closer.

I quickly jumped up to put my clothes back on. My pants at least. I still didn't dress like an Egyptian. I was used to what I had worn for so long.

"It is true that she did not see what you have just seen. What I am showing her is somewhat darker. I grow tired of your incessant worrying, Godric. I know Samira, as she is my flesh and blood. She would never betray you."

"So he is my son?"

"Yes and No."

"Beg pardon?"

"You are as blind as you always were." He muttered under his breath. I could barely hear him. "The boy will be your son. That is all I can tell you…Just trust her, will you?" He asked before vanishing.

As soon as he was gone, Samira woke up with a moan. She always made that sound when she awoke. It made me wonder if that meant whenever she had a dream of the future that he was there watching her. Had he been there the whole time?

"Godric? Who were you talking to?"

"No one." I lied. I felt a quick pain in my skin like someone had pinched me. He wanted me to tell the truth, which I would, just not here.

I helped her up and we returned to our room. On the way there we passed by Bastian who was now awake.

"Godric, I did not except to see you in the temple."

"Some things change." I told him. Much had changed. But apparently some things never changed, as Ra had said about me being blind.

"Indeed. The Europeans were safely removed. Bakari and the others will be back within hours."

That was good news at least. I had been so worried that they would wake up before reaching the border and a fight would break out. So many scenarios had been playing in my mind.

Bastian started to go on his way again, but I stopped him. I told him I wanted to talk to him for a moment and then I told Samira I would meet her after. She trusted me and went on her way. I followed Bastian down the hall towards the throne room.

"I have a question."

"I'm listening."

"Is it possible, do you believe, for an outsider – someone without an ounce of Egyptian blood, to have a connection to your gods?"

He stopped then and turned to face me fully. He was reading my mind, I could feel it. I had hidden it away to keep Samira from knowing, but he found it. He saw it. He saw Ra. I could almost see his reflection in Bastian's eyes.

"You saw him?"

"Twice now. What I do not understand is how. I may be the husband of an Egyptian, but that is my only connection. Yet he said I am as much a part of your people as Samira, and in time I would see just how much. What could he possibly mean by that?"

"I wish I could say." He replied. He was just as confused as I was. He was in awe. "I have never heard of any god, let alone Ra, showing himself. Even I have not seen one face to face."

"Then why me?"

"Because you asked." Bastian stated simply. "You were not a believer, and when you went into our basement you were asking for proof, for answers. Perhaps, that is all he wanted to instill in you – faith."

I thought for a moment, then agreed saying, "Perhaps." Bastian went on his way again and I returned to Samira. She was taking a bath and rubbing her belly. I didn't have to be able to read minds to know what she was thinking. She wanted to believe that after all the love we made earlier, that that boy was in there.

I joined her, slid in behind her to hold her against me. "I love you." I whispered kissing her ear. I didn't say it enough, I knew that. She deserved better, but she would never find anyone more devoted to her. No man could ever love her more, I was sure of it.

She turned her head to see me and smiled. Then she kissed me softly. "I love you."

She rested against me, letting her body relax and lean rather than sitting up straight. Meanwhile, she held the sponge and began washing her skin, whilst humming to herself. She did that when she was happy.

"I have to tell you something."

She stopped humming.

"Do not worry it's nothing awful. In fact, you might even say it was a miracle."

"What?"

"Earlier when you asked me who I was talking to…"

"Yes?"

"I lied…Before I found you in the temple, I went into the basement." I waited for her to say something against me being down there, but she said nothing, so I continued. "I honestly do not know what I expected to happen when I went down there, but certainly not what I found."

"Godric." She sighed. "I know wealth intrigues you, I mean you grew up as a slave…"

"No, not the gold, that's not what I meant." I interjected harshly. "Samira, I saw…I saw…"

"You saw what?"

"Ra."

She turned quickly in my arms to face me. "You saw a god? And not just any god, you saw the king of the gods?"

I nodded. "Then again in the temple."

"What did he say?"

I didn't quite know what he meant when he said "yes and no" but it wasn't what Samira had hoped either way. I couldn't break her heart just yet, so I only told her half the story. "To trust you."

She smiled realizing I had had an epiphany and I no longer worried about it. I had no reason to. He had assured me that at least she would be faithful even if I told her she could just to give her what she wanted. Only time would tell what was going to happen, so now I just had to be patient.


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37: Werewolves**

**Roughly 125 AD**

**Thanks to my ever loyal reviewers. And thanks to my newest recruit who added this as their favorite story, Pocket Bug. I'd appreciate it if you too would review. I could use all the reviews I can get. **

Another couple decades passed by and things went back to normal. Or as normal as it could get. Samira's dreams of impending danger lessened and her powers continued to get stronger. They were taking longer than Bastian had predicted. She had complete control over her shifting abilities, she could even shift to look like other people with little to no pain. And her abilities to control the elements continued to grow. If she concentrated too hard sometimes she would get a headache, but that was getting easier too. However, we knew there were more to come. Not all the gods in her bloodline had manifested yet. Isis granted her control over the elements and magic, which was something else she slightly possessed even as a human. It only got stronger the older she got. Her visions came from Horus as well as Ra, except Horus allowed her to see more than just the future – she could past and present as well. That left Hathor, Mut, and Osiris to give her an active power. However, Mut was also in Dorothea's bloodline and granted her the ability to be a Queen and a mother. If Bastian had been a descendent of Ptah, they could have had children together. So there were two active powers still yet to manifest. Bastian believed they wouldn't until they were needed. They would show up when she most needed them.

This year brought struggle throughout Northern Africa as a plague swept through. To the west, in the kingdom of Numidia, rumors were worse. Hundreds of thousands of lives lost to the plague and famine resulting from large swarms of locusts. In order to protect Egypt from the plague, the all went into the temple to pray for protection. Then, they asked Samira to try to use her magic to cast a protection spell. She did the best she could, but whether or not it worked was hard to say. Perhaps, it had, or the gods merely answered their prayers. Either way, we escaped the plague, but barely.

Samira took it as a sign that she was getting stronger and she kept on track. Her diet of feeding on the dead no longer bothered her. She lost all craving for animal blood, which was more than I could say for myself. Human blood was still very appealing. Anytime we went into the city it was a struggle not to walk into the nearest house and slaughter the inhabitants. Samira calmed me as best she could.

While we were still in the city we found something interesting. But it was something that made Samira very upset. I heard her scream and when I ran to her side I found her staring wide-eyed at a couple of dead bodies. They weren't just any dead bodies, and it definitely wasn't a normal death. They were ripped to shreds. Blood was everywhere, on the walls of the houses around them, on the sand, and their entrails were also spread out on the sand. No vampire did this.

"Who would do this?" She muttered then looked up to me. Then Bakari came running along. As members of the Authority, we couldn't go out on our own, especially after what happened with the Celts.

"My gods." He whispered as he knelt down to investigate the damage. He noticed a mark on one of the bodies, on his arm. It was a brand. I looked at the other body and found the same marking on the same arm. It was a hieroglyph, but I didn't know what it meant.

"What is it?" I asked. It looked like a crescent moon over a stork, a disk, and a woman.

"Aheh bahket." Samira translated. "Servant of the moon?"

Bakari groaned in disgust. "Werewolves."

"Were…wolves? What are werewolves?"

"Relatives of shifters, but they are limited to only changing into wolf form. They are a relatively new race in comparison to us."

"What do we do?" She asked in concern. "If they are massacring people…"

Bakari shook his head and stood up to get away from the stench. "No. There was a dispute. Probably for control of the pack, or these were traitors and this their punishment."

"Why have we never seen one in the area before?" I asked. We had been in Egypt for over a century now and I had yet to ever see a werewolf. I had yet to see one since I left Rome as a matter of fact. Just looking at these two battered bodies reminded me of the first werewolves I had seen in my life. I was still human, a few of us were accompanying Appius through town on business. He went to an auction and bought a handful more. Two among them – a man and woman – were close to each other, I thought they had been family and it made me miss my own. They acted strangely towards Appius when they first saw him. Everyone fights, no one wants to be chained up like an animal and thrown into a carriage with bars, but this was different. They were aiming all their fury at him alone, not the guards who were binding them. When we returned to the villa, Appius made a spectacle of them. He claimed it was because they had tried to kill him. I thought it a waste considering he had just bought them. He crucified the man as an example to all of his slaves what would happen to us if we tried to harm him. The woman he was going to as well, but she begged for the life of her unborn child. Appius slit her from her privates to her throat and fed her to the dogs. Ironic considering she was a werewolf. He told me the truth of that later. He hadn't killed them because they made attempt on his life, he bought and killed them because they were the enemy and he couldn't bare seeing another one born.

"They were banned." Bakari answered. "We have to tell the king."

We hurried back to the palace after we buried the bodies. Then to our surprise he already had a few visitors. Bakari stepped in front to protect Samira from the intruders that were werewolves. Most likely they were the ones who had killed the ones we just buried.

"It is alright, my son." Bastian reassured his progeny gently. These werewolves weren't for killing.

I didn't trust them though. I took her hand and kept her behind me to be safe. She had never seen werewolves before, and they unnerved her. She clutched at my sides as she peered at them from over my shoulder. Knowing her she was delving into every secret they had in their heads to see if they were friendly.

"We just buried their kin, I would not be so quick to trust them." Bakari replied.

"Battle for position." One of them said. He was about Bastian's height, and broad as well. He was obviously European, though I couldn't tell from where. He had no distinctive markings on his skin that I recognized. "I won." He added with a smirk.

"They have come to inform us that they believe a war is coming. It has brought struggle among their own ranks."

"Hence the battle." The woman added looking to her companion. They were intimates, and she was afraid of him. Or at least she was below him and worried for speaking out of turn.

"War is coming." The man said. "To the Romans. And we will fight in it."

Bastian nodded understanding their opinions and respecting them, but "We shall not." He replied. "As I have already made clear."

"You claim these to be your people and yet you would not fight alongside them against such a tyrant?"

"The matters of mortals are not ours to meddle in. We watch and protect, we do not intercede unless the tyrant is supernatural. Humans must conduct themselves."

"They will be slaughtered." Samira murmured.

"Men have been killing each other since the beginning of time, what difference is this?"

"Fine." The werewolf huffed giving up. "Let your people die." Then they escorted themselves out.

Samira waited for them to leave before she barged forward to state her opinion on the matter, which was – not to my surprise – in favor of the wolves. The last thing she wanted was to let the people die, even if they were human and by nature to us no better than cattle.

"Will you really stand there and do nothing?" She asked bluntly, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Eloquent as always, he simply said, "Samira have you seen any sign of this war they speak of? I have not." Then turned back towards his throne and began walking up the stairs. Except Samira followed. The staircase might as well have been the throne too, no one was allowed to stand on it. Bakari tried to hold her back, but she easily shoved him off of her arm and kept going and kept talking.

"Just because I have not seen a war yet, does not mean they are wrong. They are European, Awi, perhaps they know something we do not with an insider's advantage."

He sat down on his throne and stared at her. I knew that look. He was trying to see right through her, but he couldn't. She was a brick wall at this point, she was too strong for even him. "They are not European." He replied rather than going on with the argument of war. "They are from the Sinai Peninsula where you once lived, and that was where they were meant to stay. By crossing the sea they broke the law."

"They are kin to our kind." She replied.

I too found it strange that he was so judgmental on a race that was as she said kin to theirs. They were shapeshifters too, though less powerful. I had only seen two kinds of weres, aside from skinwalkers, in my life – wolves, and strangely enough birds. I met the birds during the time I was on my own, before I met Samira. I was hunting and when I tried to kill a certain human, it shifted into a hawk and flew away. I didn't know about shapeshifters at that point, Appius never mentioned them. So out of curiosity I followed it and found a whole flock residing in a hillside. Their alpha came forward, threatened to fight me if I refused to leave. I was no longer there for food, I was just curious about them. I thought the only shifters were the werewolves. He laughed at me and said there were almost a species of were for every carnivorous species, and a small few that aren't. However, they were nearly extinct because the carnivorous ones had a tendency to eat them. Then when that supply ran low, they started eating the others. Weres weren't exactly fond of each other apparently, even though technically they were all related.

He told me that they all had a common background. A pack of shifters would, for their own purposes –most likely survival – decided to only phase into one specific carnivore in order to be able to hunt. The others, he said, most likely renounced this way of living and therefore chose to be a creature that was not a killer. Then through time, breeding and evolution did the rest.

It had me curious where shifters originated from. Surely they couldn't all be Egyptian.

"They are not." Bastian announced looking down to me from his seat. Samira had heard me too, but ignored me for the moment. She was too focused on her argument with him. Yet he continued to answer my question. "Believe it or not, we have found that all religions are true. All gods exist as long as there are people to worship them. Shifters come from many different religions – Greeks, Celts, Scandinavians, even Romans. Europe is festered with them."

"Why do you look down on them?"

"They made their choice." Dorothea replied for him as she came closer to me. He looked down at her surprised that she interrupted him, and she simply gestured to Samira. He had her to worry about, so she would speak to me on his behalf. "They outcast themselves from being shifters and broke our laws by breeding a new race. They corrupted themselves. And most of them are inbred in order to keep their were blood and not revert back to shifters or become human."

"I see."

"They turned away from us, not the other way around."

"Still, you banish them." I went on. "If they choose to live away from you, so be it, but must you force them out and only encourage their separation?"

She smiled as if she were proud of me. I didn't understand why. "You do have it in you." She said.

"What?"

"You would make a good leader one day."

A leader? No. That was never my destiny, and it was never one I wanted. I gladly gave that torch to my brother, not wanting anything to do with leadership or any role that others looked up to.

"It is in you." She said again. "Do not hide from it."

I tuned back into Samira and Bastian's argument. He was merely telling her the same as his wife had just told me. They were corrupted and disgusting. He wanted them isolated so they could not spread their disease and corrupt the other shifters in the area. Even the European Authority had the right idea in that regard, because their religions too looked down on them. And he was not going to change it. Shifters were a dying breed, he had to protect them.

Samira huffed and walked away in defeat, which was astonishing to me. She never accepted defeat, at least not with me. But he was King, and she could only go so far. I followed her to make sure she didn't do anything drastic in her angered state. I stopped her in the hall just outside of the throne room and gently placed her against the wall. She was breathing heavily, panting and huffing. Her fists were in balls, she was ready to kill something. I held her there, my hand caressing her cheek.

"Sh…"

"I never thought he could do something so terrible as to be prejudiced."

Honestly, neither had I. I always thought he and her were so much alike, that they would agree on everything. So to see them so torn apart was a first. I could see she was starting to question him in everything now. "Do not hate me for saying this, but – "

"You agree with him?" She finished for me in astonishment. The look she gave me was of pure disgust.

"Samira, your kind are dying. I know the weres, I have seen them. They will do whatever they have to to survive, and that includes recruiting what shifters are left in this world and forcing them to corrupt themselves so they can breed more. Is that what you want?"

She shook her head honestly. She just wished there were a middle ground.

"Things are never that simple, my love." I whispered kissing her forehead.

"I know." She muttered sadly. Life would never allow it to be that simple. It had to be hard. No one understood why.

I held her close for a moment letting her cry out her frustration with life's cruelty. To her, the thought of her race being no more was unimaginable. The world would be dim without something so magical and beautiful and pure that was sent by the gods. But somehow she knew that it would one day come to be so. She hadn't seen it yet, but she could feel it in her bones. She tried explaining it to me, but she couldn't. She just knew. I believed her.

My one concern, well greater concern, was what would she do now that she was questioning their leadership? We all knew one day when she fully matured she would be far stronger than Dorothea who had been Queen for centuries. I was worried that when the time came, she would want to place herself in Dorothea's position so that she could keep Bastian in check. Dorothea was a good Queen, strong and powerful, but she had no backbone when it came to her husband. Like all Queens in society, she did as her husband bid and was there for support. He was ultimately the one in charge and the final decisions were his to make since she wouldn't stand up to him if she disagreed. However, it wasn't because he would not listen, it was simply because she was a woman and she understood that was the way things worked. Samira would not if she were in her position. Thinking about it, I had a hard time seeing how such a coupling would work because the two would never be able to stop arguing and come to a decision on some of their more important issues.

Yet, Samira claimed she had no intention of ever being in a position of authority. It wasn't her place to tell anyone how to live, though she would gladly voice her opinion. Though I had an odd instinct, something that rarely happened, but when it did I was usually right, that she just didn't want it as of yet. In time, their decisions would drive her to the brink and she would call them out for it. How long exactly it would take for that to happen, I didn't know. But when it did, I couldn't see her losing.

Then I looked up and there he was yet again standing at the end of the hall watching us. That odd instinct tingling up my spine was his influence. He winked with a proud grin and disappeared. These gods of hers were getting to me and I didn't like it.

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	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38: A Guide**

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I soon found Ra again after he had showed himself to me in the hall only to wink at me as if I had done something particularly interesting. He was hard to find, to be quite honest, when you had to look for him. I realized he was here quite often, but was always in hiding so he couldn't be seen. Did that mean all gifted could see the gods all the time? They were their blood after all so perhaps whatever trick they had to keep mortals from seeing them didn't work with their immortal descendents like Samira. Or those they allowed to see them, like me.

I finally found him in the basement where I had first met him. And to my surprise he wasn't alone. Ra was perched atop a mound of gold talking to this other person, who looked like another god. I couldn't recognize him, though, he had a golden mask over his face. He was happily seated on a golden chair. I cleared my throat interrupting them. Ra quickly acknowledged me and jumped down to greet me, while the other remained seated as if I meant nothing to him.

I wasn't going to waste any time, so I got right to why I was there. "You have a plan." I said to him. Or else he would not have winked at me. I could feel his influence on me, and it was almost like compulsion. He was trying to use me, but I didn't know for what.

He didn't seem offended at all that I wasn't in the mood for chatter. He answered my question. "As I said, Samira is valuable. Not only to me, but to all of us. She is our greatest creation."

"Ere go she must also have a great purpose?"

He nodded. Great purposes meant great destinies. He wanted to use me to bring her closer to said destiny. Which was what exactly?

"However, she is not alone is her greatness." He added and it caught my attention. "No god would allow their greatest creation to live a life with a lover who was undeserving of them. And to deserve someone like that, you must also be extraordinary. Hence my interest in you."

"Am I one of you?"

He smirked amusingly and I could also see a hint of flattery. "No. Your story is more complicated than that, and all I can say is that Samira is at the center. She always has been. You have no gifts, but you have been very useful."

"What do you want from me now?"

"As your instinct told you - Samira is destined to be a great leader. We are proud of Dorothea, she has done her duty well, but her time as Queen is coming to an end."

"Samira does not want to be Queen."

"Now, perhaps. However, soon, Bastian's decisions and Dorothea's lack of rebuttal will get to her. She will be hesitant to actually challenge Dorothea for power due to Dorothea's age, and that's where you come in."

"You want me to persuade her?"

"Encourage her." He corrected. "She will need little persuasion when the time comes, but she will need the support to know she is making the right decision. She _must_ become Queen."

"Why not show her a vision?" I asked, which made the other one laugh rather annoyingly. I could tell by his laugh alone he was overly confident. He wanted to say something, probably to insult me, but Ra silenced him with a snap of his fingers.

"Showing her a vision would work, but it would not give her the drive she needs. She would then only challenge Dorothea because of the vision. It has to be for the right reason, therefore it must also be at the right time."

I nodded understanding. I suddenly felt the pressure on my shoulders, it felt like the weight of the world because the fate of the world depended on who was in charge. The two futures (one with Dorothea as Queen, the other with Samira) are drastically different.

"There is something else on your mind as well. Does the boy still bring you to worry?"

To be honest I had partially forgotten about the boy. "No." However, now that he mentioned it, it all came back to me. I felt the concern and paranoia rise again.

"Fear not, my son. She is faithful to you, for the rest of her life."

I wanted to believe that, but Samira wanted that child so badly…

"In time." He promised.

I nodded again, then turned my attention to our guest. "Who is – "

"Oh, I almost forgot you were there, brother." He said laughing at himself as if he were amusing. "Godric, I am afraid that my time with you has come to a close. I am a King after all I have many other duties to attend to."

"So this is your replacement?"

"My brother, Osiris." As he was introduced he removed the golden mask to reveal his face, which looked a lot like Ra's. Though, his was more distinguished. Ra looked rather young, Osiris didn't.

I had to ask though, "Why him?"

"When Samira becomes Queen she will have to name herself a god, as all the others have done. And the name she will take is of her own blood, and also that of the goddess who watches over her."

Isis.

He nodded.

"Does that mean - ?"

He nodded again. So then I was to take a name too, and this is who I would be? To everyone else the Authority were gods, so they named themselves as such, like the original vampires had done, for emphasis. So Osiris was here to guide me? To teach me how to be like him?

"However, his patience is – well, practically nonexistent." He said then turned to face his brother again warning, "Do not judge him for his lack of our blood, brother." Osiris pretended to ignore him. "Be patient, Godric, he will be more helpful to you than you can imagine."

Then he disappeared. Apparently, there was nothing left to say. Gods were like that I'd learned. They came to say what needed to be said then left. There was no time for gossip. I left the basement to go find Samira. Bastian had upset her so much she left the Palace to go outside and get some fresh air even though everyone was against it. The only way they let her was if she took a guard with her, unfortunately that guard was Bakari.

I snuck out through the window in our bedroom. The throne room had too many people in it to try and walk out the door. The full moon above gave off plenty of light that even a human could find their way around. The werewolves were still nearby though, so it also gave off an eerie feeling of knowing they were out there. I could hear them howling – they were close. I ran as fast I could trying to find where she had gone. The Oasis was my best guess, and luckily there she was. Bakari was lounging under the tree reading a book of all things, while she was in the water swimming. Swimming always relaxed her mind. She heard me coming and quickly stood in the water. Bakari too, jumped up holding his sword in case I was a werewolf or worse. But Samira knew better.

"No, Bakari, it's only my husband."

I still found that word odd at times. I wasn't quite used to it. She came out of the water to greet me and wrapped her arms around my neck. I kissed her cheek then looked to her ex-lover.

"You may go."

"You do not dismiss me as if you are my superior."

"I'm here, she does not need you watching over her. Go protect your maker."

"You do not have to be rude." She said looking me in the eye seriously. Then she glanced over her shoulder to him. "Go." She said softly.

He obliged to her and quickly made himself scarce. She rested against me again clinging to me. "Where did you go?" She asked.

I kissed her hair while my hands caressed her back. "Sorry, love. Your god called me."

She laughed softly under her breath finding my statement odd. "They have spoken to you and you still refer to them as my gods?"

"I am not one of you."

She raised her head to look at me again and placed her hands on my cheeks to make me look at her. "You are my husband. That makes you one of us."

"It's not the same."

"Why do you fight so hard?" She asked. It was more her being curious than anything. She wasn't angry with me or frustrated. Just curious as to why I was so adamant about these things. She didn't understand why I would not let myself accept their ways when this was obviously home. I knew the gods existed so there was no reason to doubt them, and I knew all the myths Bastian had told us were true so why could I not accept it and be part of that world with her?

I replied, "I guess a part of me still clings to what's gone." I was a Gaul. Part of me, the human that had been so battered and damaged inside me, the part she was keeping alive, was still holding on. If I let go of what I truly was, what I was raised to be, I feared I would lose myself.

"I would never let that happen." She whispered as she leaned in to kiss me.

It didn't last long and we both noticed another presence. I opened my eyes to see hers were staring past me in awe. The odd thing was that it wasn't a vampire, or even one of the werewolves we had met last night. I could tell not only by the smell, but because she was stunned. Werewolves wouldn't astonish her that much, not after meeting them, and neither would a vampire. That look meant she was seeing something she never had before.

I turned keeping her behind me instinctively. The woman standing there was beautiful. She was beyond beautiful. For a moment I thought she was another of Samira's goddesses. She was tall, thin, had flawless pale skin, and dark brown hair that was almost black. Her eyes were chocolate like Samira's. She definitely was European, so the question was: what was she doing here.

"Apologies, I did not mean to interrupt."

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I am Mira."

"What are you?" Samira asked next.

Mira giggled like an innocent child. "What kind of question is that?"

She smelled human. Almost. There was a hint of something, but I couldn't put my finger on it. However, Samira seemed to know something I didn't. Not surprising, really.

"I can smell you. You are not human, not a werewolf – or a were of anykind -, and you are no vampire. I can also feel you. You have magic inside of you. So I will ask again, _what_ are you?"

"Ask your Authority. They know us."

"Us?"

She grinned and stepped forward. "Oh we are everywhere. This is our home as much as it is yours, gifted one."

I stepped forward in return growling, "Stay away from her."

"Bakari!" Samira called. I should've known. He would never leave her completely. He came running like her servant and stepped between us to face the woman.

"What are you doing here, Mina? This is not your territory."

"_Everywhere_ is our territory." She corrected harshly.

"No." He disagreed gently.

She laughed without fear. This woman was cocky, she obviously truly believed she belonged and she wasn't going to leave. At least not on her own.

Finally he turned to Samira as she was the one who called for his help. "Are you alright?"

She nodded quickly as if she were uncertain of how well she was right now. "Just tell me what the bloody hell is going on."

"Mira here is one of the old people."

"Old people?"

"I am sure your king told you the shocking truth that all religions, all myths and tales are true."

"Mira is from the island out west."

Island out west? There was only one island off the western coast of Europe. We had been there. We were dragged there by my treacherous, evil older brother to die. "Britannia?"

"Ah, you know it."

"She's one of them?" Samira gasped. I could feel her anger before she even expressed it. Then in an instant she was lunging at the woman and tackled her. Samira pinned her to the ground and hissed and snarled like a lioness. I was stunned to see her act so violently. It was usually against her. But considering how upset she already was due to her argument with Bastian.

"Samira!" Bakari cried as he tried to pry her off, but she roared at him.

"I am _tired_ of being hunted!"

"She is not affiliated with the Celts, I promise you."

Mira lit up like the sun and Samira was sent flying. I knew what this woman was. I had never seen one, but Appius had told me about them.

I took her arm and pulled her back. She didn't fight me like she had with Bakari. "He's right, Samira." I said. "She's a Fae. They hate vampires."

Mira swept herself off. Her pure white dress didn't even look dirty. She was ready for a fight, but so was Samira. It took all my strength to keep her from killing Mira. Mira raised her hand up ready to fire another flash of light at Samira. Now that I saw a Fae for myself it reminded me so much of Samira. But Samira didn't seem to agree. She looked at her like she was a monster, worse than a vampire. Could she see her true appearance? Appius had told me once that on the outside Fae look beyond beautiful, like gods, but it was like a glamour. They were truly ugly creatures, deceivers.

Samira was disgusted. She took my hand and led me away. "If she wants to speak to the king, then come speak to him. I would love to see what he has to say about this…whatever she is."

We went back to the Palace as she wanted, and charged in like she was an authority member. Technically we were, but we had no authority over the vampires inside the Palace. Yet she eyed everybody like she was the Queen. She marched up to the staircase where Dorothea was sitting. Bastian wasn't there, which had us all curious as to where he was and why.

"You have a visitor." Samira said.

"Hello, Dorothea." Mira smiled as she stepped forward. It was a false smile. Appius was right, they couldn't be trusted.

Dorothea snarled at the sight of her. "Mira."

"I mean no harm, even to your abominations." She said with disgust. "However, we have a common enemy. Even the weres are all a gossip."

"The Romans, yes, we have already discussed that. Bastian has vouched to leave human affairs well alone."

"He will let them control everything? We ruled once. This is our planet, our home, how dare you let the humans take over!"

Finally Bastian came in from outside. He had been outside and we didn't know it. How had he gotten past us? I imagined he had been watching us. He already knew what was going on. Mira was here to protest like the werewolves had done. They wanted a war, not only among the humans, but they wanted to be a part of it so they could simultaneously rid us of the Romans and place themselves in its place as the rulers. "We can live together in peace." He announced. "But only by living apart."

"I urge you to reconsider."

"No." He replied sternly. "If you wish to live side by side with humans, go back to your island."

She huffed and left. I had expected more fight from her. Then again it could be an act, I thought. She marched out like she was on a mission. She had a plan. I wished I knew what, but at the same time I had a feeling I didn't want to know.

Once she was gone, Samira went into another fit. "Who is she?"

"Samira, calm down." I whispered in her ear gently. I hated seeing her like this. I was usually the one gnawing at the bit to fight or kill something. How had this gotten reversed?

"If she has anything to do with Hagan…"

I cut her off forcefully tightening my grip around her in an effort to make her listen. She was being ridiculous. But she was still fresh from her disagreement with Bastian. "Fae hate vampires. I told you that!"

My attempt failed, she merely barked in return. "She might not!"

I sighed and tried to be calm again hoping my calmness would sooth her. "Samira, please. Calm yourself."

Thankfully it worked and she took a deep breath trying to relax. I felt her muscles under mine loose. She said calmly, "Tell me about them."

Bastian replied, "They hail from Western Europe. They are known throughout all Celtic territory as part of their religion."

"You mean they are gods?"

Everyone chuckled. "No. No, absolutely not. Although, their Queen is worshipped like one."

"Fae are as old as we are, maybe older, no one knows." I added. At least that's what Appius told me. "However, they are a dying breed. Vampires hunt them. They have been massacred to the point that they have to resort to breeding with humans in order to keep their race alive."

"Are they a threat?"

"No."

"Then why do vampires hunt them?" She asked looking to me.

"For their blood." I replied hesitantly. It was an odd coincidence that her blood had the same effect, and it was something I never quite understood. I had tried to put it together, but so far I had come up short. Perhaps, Bastian knew the answer. "It allows vampires to walk in the sun."

She froze. Her eyes were glued to a spot on the floor as she retreated into her head to think. She was now wondering the same thing I had been since I first tasted her blood. I had honestly thought she was part Fae for a while, until we met Bastian and learned the truth of her heritage.

"It's coincidence only." Bastian assured us. "Honestly, it seems to be a popular coincidence. We have met other creatures from other religions and their blood all has the same effect on our kind. It means nothing."

"Are you certain of that?" She mumbled lowly as she kept staring at the floor.

He nodded. There was no need to say the word when she could hear it in his head. Then he turned and walked up the staircase to his thrown. Dorothea followed and I felt Samira tighten against me again. She was still angry. IN her mind they were less deserving of those seats they were sitting on and she wanted to remove them. According to Ra she would one day, but not today. She wasn't ready for that yet. She'd lose if she picked a fight with Dorothea.

But the Fae had brought up a point, the same that put Samira in this position. The war. She too said a war was coming with the Romans and therefore whatever of her people were here were now leaving. They hated war more than anything. But rather than arguing with Bastian again – he still hadn't changed his mind on the matter even though that was now two species telling him war was truly coming – left the throne room in a hurry.

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